bakit ngayon lang naisipan ng Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) na palakasin ang local iron at steel industry ng ating bansa? dapat noon pa dahil ninanakaw lang ng mga CHINESE ang mga BLACK SAND natin sa ILOCOS at CAGAYAN. MGB; dapat ang mining industry ay beneficial sa mga PILIPINO at sa ekonomiya ng PILIPINAS. dapat tayo ang makinabang at hindi ibang bansa!!! [admin FVS] manilastandardtoday/2013/10/03/govt-vows-to-develop-iron-and-steel-industry/ Govt vows to develop iron and steel industry By Anna Leah G. Estrada | Posted 2 hours ago The Mines and Geosciences Bureau began a campaign to develop the local iron and steel industry, by employing new technologies that separate iron minerals. MGB said Wednesday it was finding ways on the beneficiation of locally-sourced iron ore for possible processing into marketable iron and finished steel products. Beneficiation refers to the process of extracting ore and separating minerals. The agency said its metallurgical technology division had established a process in upgrading locally-sourced iron ore suitable for processing into iron and steel products. It said this was achieved through a combination of wet magnetic separation using different Gauss settings, coupled with grinding to effect optimum liberation size of iron particles. MGB said it also conducted partial reduction experiments using a laboratory-scale rotary at temperature range of 800 to 1100 degree Celsius. The partially-reduced iron ore samples were submitted to the Department of Science and Technology—Metals Industry Research and Development Center for analysis using an x-ray diffraction analyzer to determine the extent of reduction from iron oxide to metallic iron. It said the results of the analysis would be used as basis for the succeeding steps of the study. “We are just waiting for the laboratory results of the test samples. Everything points to a positive outcome, though further tests are still necessary to determine the feasibility of this project,” said Bernardo Bitanga, project leader and metallurgical engineer of MGB. The Environment Department in 2010 cited the need to ban the export of iron ore and expressed hope to build an iron or steel processing plant in the country. The government, however, needs P3.2 billion for the establishment of a steel processing plant. It encouraged the private sector to invest in the facility. Aside from the iron ore industry, the government aims to develop the industry of rare earth elements, which are used for electronics. Mines and Geosciences Bureau director Leo Jasareno said the agency was exploring an old iron mine run by the defunct Philippine Iron Mines in Camarines Sur for deposits of rare earth elements. REEs are used in electronic products and in modern high-technology applications. The Philippines is currently pushing for the development of REE deposits. China currently holds 97 percent of the industry’s global market.
Posted on: Thu, 03 Oct 2013 04:35:03 +0000