BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO
QUEZON, Nueva Vizcaya (April 3)—A foreign-based mine firm operating in this municipality has poured more than P26-million worth of projects as part of its share in the development of this town’s villages.
Mayor Doris Binwag said the implementation of the P26-million worth of projects from FCF Minerals Corp. in the municipality started last year.
One of the projects funded by FCF Minerals Corp. is a new covered court in Barangay Papaya, Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya.
Binwag said the projects have contributed to the villagers’ having continuous livelihood despite the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.
“These infrastructure projects benefited 14,438 villagers in various barangays in this town.
We cannot do it alone and we are grateful for the mining firm that has been continually funding our projects being our partner in the development and progress of our communities,” she said.
Owned by the British Metals Exploration Plc, FCF Minerals operates the Runruno Gold-Molybdenum Project (RGMP), one of the two large-scale mining projects in Nueva Vizcaya, some 280 kilometers north of Manila.
FCF Minerals operates the RGMP on a 25-year financial and technical assistance agreement with the Philippine government.
Based on the records from the municipal government, FCF Minerals has spent more than P22 million in projects with 89.91 percent physical accomplishment.
According to Binwag, these projects include the completed improvements of the farm-to-market road (FMR) in Nalubbunan village; the road in Sitio (sub-village) Cabinnuangan in Runruno village; and an irrigation canal in Sitio San Juan in Buliwao village, all in this town.
FCF Minerals also funded the hanging bridge in Maasin village; FMR project in Bonifacio village; improvements of the road in Darubba village; FMR project in Antutot village in Kasibu town; construction of multipurpose drying pavement in Calaocan and Runruno villages; basketball court in Sitio Compound in Runruno; and improvement of roads in Caliat and Maddiangat villages.
Projects funded by FC Minerals include the improvement of FMR in Sitio Atan in Antutot village; construction of a hanging bridge in Sitio Ubon in Papaya village; and continuation of the FMR project in Don Mariano Perez village in Diffun town in the neighboring Quirino province.
Binwag said these projects have been funded and implemented through the FCF Minerals Social Development Management Plan under the mine’s firm’s FTAA.