Vision & Mission
Statement
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OUR VISION
Holcim Mining and Development Corporation is the preferred mining and mining-derived resource developer and supplier driving sustainability in the communities we are in by providing innovative environmental, social, safety, and economic solutions
OUR MISSION
Holcim Mining and Development Corporation is unequivocally committed to:
Our community and environment
We share in the success of the communities we are in by instilling a legacy that respects
its continued ecological, social and cultural development
Our customers
We establish and uphold collaborative partnerships with our customers in delivering quality resources and services to the end users Our people We create and build leaders who ensure the sustainability of our business, our relationships, and our values
Our shareholders
Our shareholders see us as partners in safeguarding, valuing and growing the company’s economic growth and corporate reputation
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Company Profile
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Holcim Mining and Development Corporation (HMDC), a subsidiary of Holcim Philippines, Inc. (HPI) and is primarily engaged in providing limestone, silica, and all the other raw materials needed by HPI in cement manufacturing.Company Profile
HMDC has four main locations in the country: La Union, Bulacan, Lugait and Davao. HMDC’s La Union Operations has three Mining Permits covering the Municipalities of Bacnotan, Balaoan and Luna in the Province of La Union and two Mining Permits covering the Municipality of Agno in the Province of Pangasinan. Current operations for raw materials needed for cement manufacturing covers Bacnotan and Balaoan.
HMDC-La Union is a nominee of the Presidential Mineral Industry Environmental Award 2018 and is the focus of this report.
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Company History
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In 2008, Sulu Resources Development Corporation entered into a Share Purchase Agreement with HPI with the sale of its land holdings to the latter. In 2010, it became Holcim Aggregates Corporation with the trading of aggregates as its primary business.
In 2011, Holcim Aggregates Corporation was renamed Holcim Mining and Development Corporation, with the ultimate aim of making it a separate entity from HPI.
The official organization of HMDC was created in August of 2014 with and the transfer of all land holdings owned by HPI to HMDC. DENR-MGB eventually approved the turnover of the MPSA to HMDC in April of 2016.
Since becoming an independent company, HMDC has since been awarded the Quality Management System Standards (ISO 9001 : 2008), Environmental Management System (ISO 14001 : 2004) and the Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSAS 18001 : 2007). The first two, ISO 9001 : 2008 and ISO 14001 : 2004 are currently being updated to the 2015 standards.
Today, HMDC’s La Union operations remains headquartered in Barangay Quirino, Bacnotan, La Union, less than a kilometer away from HPI’s cement manufacturing plant.
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Project Location
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Holcim Mining and Development Corporation – La Union Operation’s mining claims cover several barangays in three different municipalities in La Union and in the town of Agno in Pangasinan. Its headquarters is located in Barangay Quirino, Bacnotan, La Union.Project Location
- LA UNION’S LIMESTONE & SHALE QUARRIES - The limestone and shale quarries of the company’s La Union Operations cover over 400 hectares of land encompassing six barangays in three municipalities in La Union – Barangays Paagan and Quirino in Bacnotan, Barangays Paraoir and Almeida in Balaoan and Barangays Darigayos and Pitpitac in Luna. These host barangays continue to be beneficiaries of the company’s Environmental Protection and Enhancement Program (EPEP) and Social Development and Management Program (SDMP).
Land Routes to HMDC – La Union Operations Office and its Limestone and Shale Quarries
HMDC - La Union’s quarry site can be reached via the Poblacion and Bitalag roads
from the National Highway in Bacnotan. Additional access routes include the Bacnotan
Poblacion Road and Luna Road from the west, the Manila - Laoag Road from the east
and the Bangar – Luna - Balaoan Roads from the north. It takes roughly 45 minutes
to one hour from San Fernando City, La Union to reach
HMDC’s center of operations in Bacnotan.
By Air and Sea
Raw materials are delivered by sea to Holcim’s pier in Poro Point while the nearest
air access is the government airport in San Fernando City, La Union.
- AGNO’S SILICA QUARRY - The company’s silica quarry is located in the town of Agno in Pangasinan which has a total area of about 730 hectares covering the barangays of Allabon and Namatucan. While the company’s silica mining operations ceased a few years ago, the cited impact communities are still part of the company’s Environmental Protection and Enhancement Program as well as the Social Development and Management Program.
Getting to HMDC’s Silica Quarry in Agno
Situated in Pangasinan’s western coast, Agno is 30 to 45 minutes away from Alaminos City.
It takes another half an hour via a feeder road from Agno’s main highway
to HMDC’s non-operational Silica Quarry.
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The Mining Operations of HMDC - La Union
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Holcim Mining and Development Corporation – La Union Operations’ vision, mission and values correspond with that of its parent company’s, Holcim Philippines, Inc. – they are targeted towards avoiding, reducing or whenever possible, eliminating their operations’ impact on the environment and ensuring safe spaces and healthy conditions for their work-force. Despite mining’s fundamental effects – the environmental and social changes it may bring about – HMDC is committed to leaving positive legacies to the communities they belong to.The Mining Operations of HMDC - La Union
HMDC follows a well-planned mining process which includes appointing the most skilled professionals who are passionate in their respective fields to conduct evaluations and continuous studies of their respective areas of responsibility.
AN OVERVIEW OF THE RAW MATERIALS MINED BY HMDC
- Limestone and Shale: Raw Materials mined in HMDC – La Union
The main ingredient in cement manufacturing is Limestone, a sedimentary rock rich in calcite
and aragonite. It is coralline, porous to massive, and is often white in color
with light tints of gray to brown.
Shale, in turn, is a fine-grained sedimentary rock, argillaceous, fissile
and varies in color from light gray to light brown. This is used as a cement additive.
- The Limestone and Shale Quarry of HMDC - La Union
Both Limestone and Shale in the area occurred as uplifted coral reef when sea regression
happened at a certain geologic period. The area covered is generally underlain by three
distinct rock units: Alluvial Deposit, Uplifted Coral Reef
and Sedimentary Turbidite Deposit.
Limestone in the quarry site is found in the western slopes of Paraoir hills.
The whole site can be observed along a 3-kilometer road stretch along
the Bacnotan – Luna Road and extends from the shore in the west towards the hillsides
in the east. The thickness of the formation varies from 15 to 30 meters in the area.
Shale, on the other hand, occupies the eastern flank of the Paraoir coastal ridge.
This is interbedded with moderately indurated sandstone and mudstone.
The sandstone is about 30 centimeters thick while shale
is about a meter thick.
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| An aerial photo of HMDC's mining operations in La Union |
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A Brief but Comprehensive
Look at the Mining Process
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A Brief but Comprehensive
EXPLORATION
As soon as the necessary permits are obtained, exploration is conducted by HMDC – La Union’s in-house geologist, and the process involves the following:
- Desk Study, wherein mine location is pinpointed and researched. At this early stage, potential environmental impacts and safety concerns are already taken into consideration.
- Ground Mapping or Probing, in which the surface of the mine site is evaluated.
- Actual Exploration or Drilling, which includes Core Logging (to determine quality of raw materials) and Geologic Modelling (to determine quantity of raw materials).
If and when the geologist’s findings yield favorable results, all documents are passed on to the mining engineers who in turn draft a plan on how the raw materials may be extracted safely, efficiently and with the least impact on the environment.
Exploration does not always lead to extraction. When an exploration results in a “failed” site, environmental rehabilitation immediately follows in keeping with the company’s commitment to sustainable and responsible mining practices. HMDC allots 10% of the total exploration budget on environmental rehabilitation.
RAW MATERIAL EXTRACTION (QUARRYING)
HMDC conducts extensive studies and plans the process of how the quarrying will be accomplished. A 3rd party contractor – ANSECA Development Corporation – executes the mining plan and carries out the actual quarrying, operating 16 hours every day.
This part of the mining process is further divided into two phases: development and the actual extraction of raw materials.
- Development - This phase is essentially the preparatory stage done before actual extraction begins. This basically involves having the area to be mined stripped and cleared of vegetative cover and waste overburden, along with the establishment of access to the deposit and installation of proper drainage systems.
Stripping
Here, the topography will be cut into a series of slices measuring
five to six meters in height with a total bench slope of 80 degrees.
Stripping starts at the uppermost portion and progresses downwards.
Benching
After clearing and leveling the ground, a new working level below
is worked out to form a bench. Although measurements vary according to the
unique geological conditions of the area and the kind of equipment used in the operation,
benches on the average measure five meters in height and must have at least
15 meters in width for safe maneuvering of heavy vehicles. If topography allows,
the creation of a new bench at a lower elevation continues until
the desired target is reached.
Incidental production is common in this stage as limestone can be extracted
while the benches and access roads are prepared.
- Extraction - This is also referred to as the Production Stage which involves the actual removal of deposit from the developed benches. The major activity in this stage is rock breaking on hard ground or the ripping and dozing on soft and medium hard ground. In the case of HMDC – La Union Operations, blasting with explosives is not done as the limestone in its quarry is soft. This is also an environmental consideration as the company has deemed blasting to have a substantially bigger impact to the environment.
All mined deposits from the benches, along with stockpiled materials, are loaded by backhoes onto dump trucks which transport the materials directly to HPI’s crusher.
The Quarry Scheduling Optimization (QSO), a computer-based application, is used by HMDC to determine the life of the quarry based on the quality and volume requirements set by the client. The application computes and creates a schedule that determines which block should be mined and when to ensure optimum use of the deposits.
MINE CLOSURE AND REHABILITATION
The task of rehabilitating decommissioned sites is one of the most important responsibilities of the company, and possibly the most demanding part in the mining process. Here, HMDC consistently strives to go beyond mere compliance with government mandates and regulations with the end goal being to restore or enhance ecological balance and biodiversity of the land as it was before the operations started or, if and whenever possible, even better. This is also done in consultation with and with the input of the host and other impact communities.
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An aerial view shows HMDC - La Union Operations’ solar-powered nursery (top left corner) where seedlings are grown for their reforestation efforts. The rest of the photo shows the shore and the main road in Bgy. Quirino, Bacnotan buffered from the company’s operations by a thick line of vegetation, mostly endemic tree species,
where both mountain and sea birds nest and feed.
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This is where an example of HMDC’s commitment to go beyond compliance comes in – aside from paying the required MRF, the company immediately starts rehabilitation work as soon as a particular area within their vast mining claims has been decommissioned which include, but is not limited to, topsoil restoration and tree planting activities. This process is well-orchestrated and guided by a 30-year progressive quarry rehabilitation plan which HMDC has created in cooperation with the community around their areas of operation. For instance, in Agno, 40 hectares of the previously mined out area has since been converted into farm lands as requested by the land owners.
To date, HMDC have has reforested nearly 160 out of the 1,700 hectares covered by their mining permit in the Provinces of La Union and Pangasinan. Sustainable and responsible mining more than just a catchphrase for HMDC. It is a philosophy that they commit to and live by.
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