SUBIC BAY FREEPORT, Philippines — Two mining companies operating in Zambales have expressed a keen interest in using the seaport facilities of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) to export iron ore to China and other client countries in the Southeast Asian region.

In a meeting with SBMA Chairman Feliciano Salonga, CAZMIN Mineral Resources Corp. president and CEO Luis Ramos and CAZMIN director for marketing Ilias Sourdis, formally expressed their intention to export “black sand” products through the Port of Subic.

Ramos said that CAZMIN and partner Alexandra Mining and Oil Ventures, Inc. intend to utilize a 15,678-square meter open space at the Sattler Pier inside the Naval Supply Depot Compound of this free port for storage and shipping purposes.

CAZMIN and Alexandra process iron ore sand, having existing mining operations at barangay Mabanglit in Cabangan town, San Rafael in San Marcelino, and Sampat in San Felipe, all in Zambales.

“Actually, we contribute something to the environment because we practically dredge the lahar-clogged rivers of San Marcelino and San Felipe,” Ramos said, adding that their black sand product is “absolutely pollution-free, has no chemical and no hazardous smell.”

Ramos said that in order to avoid contributing to traffic problems, especially in Olongapo City, the trucks they will use in hauling the ore will ply the route from the milling sites in Zambales to the Subic Bay Freeport only in the evening.

The miners told Salonga that Zambales was known before as the chromite capital of the Philippines, but with big developments in China today, magnetite iron ore has become more important than chromite. (J. Reyes)