For the second straight year, TVI Resource Development Phils., Inc. (TVIRD) was invited to participate in the Mindanao Trade, Investment & Tourism Congress (MTITC), reflecting an increasing recognition of the Company’s contributions to the socio-economic progress of one of the Philippines’ growth regions and of the mining industry’s significance in generating capital well needed for the development of communities and country.

The 2nd MTITC was held at Ozamiz City in Misamis Occidental Province and co-hosted by the chambers of commerce of the city and province.

Rocky Dimaculangan, TVIRD Director for Public Affairs, updated the participants on the developments in the Company’s Canatuan Gold-Silver Project in Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte; its advanced exploration activities in Bayog, Zamboanga del Sur; and its plans to explore areas in Jose Dalman town, also in Zamboanga del Norte.
“As we prepare for our expansion to Copper-Zinc production in Canatuan, which we expect to become operational in early 2008, we are also accelerating our exploration activities in Balabag, Bayog, Zamboanga del Sur,” Dimaculangan said. “Late last year, the residents and local government officials of Bayog staged a pro-mining rally in the town gymnasium – all expressing their all-out support for a possible mine operation there. All are also anticipating the benefits that can be derived from responsible mining.
 
“Moreover, we are in the initial stages of exploration in prospects near Canatuan and in Tamarok, Jose Dalman town,” he continued. “Just recently we received overwhelming approval from the Subanen ancestral domain claimants in Tamarok when they approved the final draft of the Memorandum of Agreement which, among other things, spells out the terms and conditions we will follow in our exploration activities in the area. The draft MOA is part of the free, prior, and informed consent (or FPIC) process set out by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples.”
 
Misamis Occidental Governor Loreto Leo Ocampos, on the other hand, told the delegates that he welcomes mining companies who wish to operate in his province, which he said is rich in manganese. Mindanao is the Philippines’ third major island group, and is seen by experts as perhaps the richest in mineral resources in the country.
 
Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Angelo Reyes, in a speech in the country’s prime business district, said local mining investments are likely to reach US $350 million or half of the total $694-milllion investment placed in the Philippines in the past two-and-a-half years. Among the expected investments, Reyes mentioned TVIRD’s Copper-Zinc Project, estimated to pour into Mindanao an additional $23 million in investments, on top of the $25 million it has already put in Canatuan for its Gold-Silver Project.