‘Marcos country’ opens doors to more mines

DIVERSE RESOURCES While the province of Ilocos Norte is known for renewable sources of energy such as this wind farm in Burgos town, Gov. Matthew Manotoc is pushing for mining of nonrenewable metallic and nonmetallic minerals when he spoke at a mining summit in Baguio City recently, noting the diverse resources that the province has to offer. —WILLIE LOMIBAO

BAGUIO CITY—Ilocos Norte Gov. Matthew Manotoc has pushed for mining opportunities in his province, currently home to the country’s top renewable energy projects.

At the four-day Mines Safety and Environment Conference here last week, Manotoc, a nephew of President Marcos, said more than 300,000 hectares in the Marcos stronghold have “abundant metallic and nonmetallic minerals.”

Found in the province are gold, copper, iron, manganese, shale and felspar (used for pottery and ceramics), limestone (essential for water cleansing processes), and aggregates.

Manotoc said his province boasts of “diverse resources, competent human capital and a proactive local government, which makes Ilocos Norte a premier investment destination in the north.”

‘Strategic’ location

The province is “the renewable energy capital of Southeast Asia” and is host to the “largest wind farms” in the region, the governor said during the third day of the annual summit on Nov. 17.

He was apparently referring to a 160-megawatt (MW) wind farm in Pagudpud town, the 150-MW Burgos Wind Farm project in Burgos town and the much older yet scenic 33-MW wind farm in Bangui town, which has become a tourist destination.

The province is “strategically suited” for mining, not only because of its mineral deposits, but also because it operates ports that are closer to East Asia, “where tiger economies like China, Japan and Korea are located,” said Manotoc, the son of Sen. Imee Marcos, who also served as governor from 2010-2016.

“Laoag (Ilocos Norte’s capital city) is closer to Taiwan than it is to Manila,” he said.

Manotoc noted that the province’s bureaucracy and socioeconomic conditions were among Ilocos Norte’s investment advantages.

“We are a very peaceful and orderly province. Our crime rate is very, very low (with a 93-percent crime clearance efficiency), a low poverty rate (pegged at 3.1 percent), and we have a young and highly literate populace,” he said.

Manotoc added that Ilocos Norte has “good infrastructure and utilities, available skilled labor (56 percent of the population is skilled) and ensures the security of mining concessions.”

The governor noted that these mining concessions were “aligned with the national mineral road map for responsible and sustainable mine industry.”

He said 10.7 percent of Ilocos Norte is covered by mining tenements, or rights to explore for minerals.

—VINCENT CABREZA INQ