Larap Iron Project
Larap, Jose Panganiban, Camarines Norte
Patent License Areas
Yinlu Bicol Mining Corporation acquired the six (6) PIM patented Mining claims consisting of about 248 hectares through a Deed of Absolute Sale from Banco De Oro (formerly Equitable PCI Bank) and Manila Banking Corporation. The mining claims are located in Brgy. Larap, Jose Panganiban, Camarines Norte and namely;
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TCT14566
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TCT14567
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TCT14568
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TCT14569
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TCT14565
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TCT14570
The Patent License Areas are located within the following barangays:
1. Brgy. Larap
2. Brgy Sta. Elena
3. Brgy. Nakalaya
Municipality of Jose Panganiban
Province of Camarines Norte
Location & Accessibility
The province of Camarines Norte, located 300 kilometer southeast of Manila. It has a total area of 211,249 hectares or 2,112 square kilometers, which is composed of 12 municipalities and 273 barangays. The provincial capital is Daet where the capitol is located. Camarines Norte belongs to the second type with no pronounce dry season however, heavy rains are expected from November to January.
Topography is characterized by rolling hills and mountainous region dominated by Mount Labo, an extinct volcano, in the interior part. Wide valleys and fertile plains fringe the coastlines facing the Pacific Ocean.
The primary geological feature of the Philippines Iron Mines in Larap is the presence of iron ore deposits. These deposits are typically found in association with magnetite and hematite minerals within the rocks of the area. Iron ore deposits in Larap can occur in various forms, including vein-type and bedded deposits. Vein-type deposits are often associated with faults and fractures within the rocks, while bedded deposits are found within sedimentary layers.
Brief Geology
The Jose Panganiban – Paracale Mining District in Camarines Norte Province lies near the northern end of Philippine Island arc, an east-facing island arc along the Philippine Trench characterized by a belt of predominantly andesitic volcanoes of relatively young age. The well-known Philippine Fault, a major northwest-trending strike-slip fault is located 70 km west of the district.
The oldest rocks found in the area are the Pre-cretaceous Paracale Granodiorite, Cretaceous amphibolite and ultramafic. Granodiorite is possibly an accreted blocks as a result of thrusting, while the Cretaceous amphibolite and ultramafic is probably a remnant of the obducted ophiolite slabs. Recurrent thrusting of the older rocks eventually resulted in the regional folding with the sequence of wackes, siltstone and mudstone and turbidites, interbedded with basalt breccias and lavas, are considered upper-Cretaceous.
The well-known and economically important rock unit, which hosted many gold, iron, and copper deposits, and widely mappable, is the Universal Formation. Unconformably overlying the Universal Formation is the Larap Volcanics. It consists of andesite flow breccia, hornblende andesite and andesitic tuff.
Contact between Larap volcanics and the Universal formation produced the major channel ways which facilitate the surge of hydrothermal mineralizing solutions. It has also localized the Larap iron deposit but also influence other iron and base metal deposits of the district.
Ore Reserves of Philippine Iron Mine (PIM)
The mineable iron ore reserves reported by PIM as of June 30,1966 are as follows:
THE ECONOMIC POTENTIAL OF PHILIPPINE IRON MINES
The economic potential of Philippine Iron Mines (PIM) hinges on the presence of Copper, Pyrite, & Molybdenum with iron and little amount of gold and silver mineralization and recent study established the presence of uranium. Modern mining technology and advancement in extractive metallurgy compounded by a bright future demand for copper may prove to be an economically viable project. It calls for extraction of the copper, pyrite, molybdenum as primary product and iron concentrate and other metals such gold and silver would be considered as by-product.
Mineralization
The mineralized zone is underlain by skarn formation, measures 3000 feet long by 1400 feet wide, exposed along the western flank of a hill fronting the Larap peninsula. It strikes N15 W and dips from 100 west to almost vertical. The copper-molybdenum deposit, approximately 3000 feet along strike and 500 feet thick ore body, is overlain by argillaceous oxide copper-bearing minerals. And a major set of faults trending northeast transect the orebody. However, mineralization principally consists of pyrite, chalcopyrite and molybdenite and some traces of gold and silver is concentrated along the flat dipping faults.
Stockpile Sampling
The main objective of this report is to access economic residual stockpiles from the previous mining operations of the Philippine Iron Mines (PIM).
The known site of positive mineralization in the area is the Bessemer pit which lies within the patent areas of Yinlu Bicol Mining Corporation formerly owned by PIM. Bessemer area was mined for iron and at a later stage was explored, developed and subsequently mined for copper, molybdenum, iron and pyrite for a year prior to its closure in 1974 due to financial and energy crises.
About seven (7) stockpiles were initially sampled by CCIL-SJ and SMT technical staff for analysis and bulk metallurgical samples.
