Semirara eyes coal mine operations expansion
By Lenie Lectura – October 13, 2024
from Business Mirror
CONSUNJI-led Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) proposed an expansion of its coal mine operations worth P291.37 billion.
The Semirara coal mine complex expansion project is envisioned to simultaneously operate the existing Molave pit and Narra pit then eventually Acacia pit after the depletion of coal deposits on the existing two pits.
The Molave mine has met its end-of-mine (EOM) life in November last year. Since 2016, its cumulative coal production reached 86.06 million MT.
For the Narra mine, the company expects to produce the remaining reserves of 45.43 MT coal until 2026. As of November last year, a total of 17million MT coal has been produced from Narra mine since 2016.
The expansion project will be undertaken until 2027.
SMPC is the country’s largest coal producer. SMPC’s operations in the Molave and Narra mines, along with future expansion in Acacia, ensure continued coal production, which is crucial for electricity generation and cement manufacturing.
“Regionally, these mining operations support local employment, infrastructure development, and economic activity. Despite global trends toward cleaner energy, coal remains in demand, especially as existing coal power plants continue to operate under current prices,” said SMPC.
In a filing, SMPC said it will apply for amendment of the environmental certificate of compliance (ECC) to include the Acacia pit, thus requiring the additional area to explore, develop, and eventually mine the new prospect.
The proposed project expansion was based on the discovered additional coal resource and reserve of 90 million metric tons (MT) and 72 million MT, respectively, from Acacia pit.
“SMPC has continued its exploration efforts to discover additional coal resources with the objective of developing new mine reserves. The Acacia prospect is one of the projects in the pipeline. Initial resource valuation yielded the commercial existence of coal in the Acacia deposit,” it said,
SMPC also expects an increase in the power demand for its mining operations, thus it plans to put up a 4×4.3 megawatt (MW) wind power plants and/ or a 10MW solar farm to address the power gap between the current power capacity of 30MW and the projected power requirement.
