Technological University of the Philippines

Ayala Boulevard Ermita, Manila, 1000, Philippines

SEMIRARA MINING
AND
POWER
CORPORATION(A case study in FUELS - EG 523)

Prepared by:

Engr. Ian Kent S. Bescoro

MSME

Submitted to:

Engr. Rex Decapia

Professor - Fuels
 Overview of Semirara Coal Plant

The Island of Semirara, Antique

» Semirara Island is found in Caluya Municipality, Antique. Caluya is an island municipality

that lies between the islands of Mindoro and Panay, about 4-5 hours by ferry from both of them.
“The furthest and last town of the province” (Municipal Development Plan), Caluya is not well
known outside the area despite having a sizable population of more than 30 000 (NSO 2011).
The most likely reason people know of Caluya is because the island of Semirara is home to one
of the largest coal mines in South East Asia run by Semirara Mining Corporation majority
owned by David Consunji's DCMI group of companies.

About Semirara Mining Coal Plant

» Semirara Mining and Power Corporation is the largest coal producer in the Philippines, and
the only power producer in the country that owns and mines its own fuel source (coal).

What is the total area coverage of the plant?

» the total area coverage of semirara Panian pit is 55 sq. kilometer. Panian pit is where they are
currently extracting and harvesting coal.

What type of coal is being produced in the mining plant?

» The type of coal being produce in semirara is a sub—bituminous coal.

What kind of mine Semirara mining operating?

» it is operating an open-cut coal mine.  It is the process of Surface mining when large machines
remove the overburden (top soil and rock layers) to expose the coal seam. The coal deposit is
then extracted using large excavators. Semirara is not only the biggest producer of coal in the
country, but it is also the only open pit mine in the Philippines.

History of mining in Semirara

On July 11, 1977, the then Energy Development Board, now the Department of Energy, awarded
a 25-year Coal Operating Contract (COC) to a consortium of three private companies,
incorporated as Semirara Coal Corporation. The COC was amended in 1983, allowing them to
have an exclusive right to conduct exploration, development and coal mining on Semirara Island
until 2012. Their first project was in Unong pit, which operated for 17 years and is now an
abandoned tailing area. The company then opened the much larger Panian pit in 1999 on the
northern portion of the island and continues to expand this open pit and surrounding company
areas. In 2004, the company, now called, Semirara Mining Corporation (SMC) started
exploration in the Himalian area, estimated to hold another 120 million tonnes of coal.

DMCI, David Consunji's group of companies, acquired shares in SMC increasing their holdings
to 74% of shares in 1983 and today DMCI owns 94.5% of Semirara Mining Corporations
shares.
David Consunji was listed in a recent issue of Forbes Richest Filipinos at number 5 with a net
worth of $2.7 billion. DMCI Holdings Inc. is the holding firms of all the other business interests
mostly owned and manage by his 8 children. The bulk of revenues of DMCI’s mining firm come
from the production of coal in Semirara and coal handling services at the Calaca plants, a coal-
fired power plant owned and operated by SEM-Calaca Power Corp. a corporation also owned
by the Consunjis.

Production
Semirara Mining and Power Corporation production
» Semirara plant produces more than 90 (%) percent of the country’s coal requirements and
only less than 10% on the other local production plant.

» from an initial annual product coal production of 806,451 tons run-of-mine (ROM) coal in
1997, they were able to produce 11.9 million MT ROM coals in 2016.

» coal production increased 17 percent year-on-year to 4 million MT, from 3.4 million MT last
year, due to higher excavating capacity.

» Semirara Mining and Power Corp.’s (SMPC) coal sales to local cement plants for the first
quarter of the year rose 11 percent to 163,000 metric tons (MT), from 147,000 MT a year
earlier. 

» it is the dominant local source of the country’s coal requirements, supplying coal to power
plants, cement plants, and other small boilers. It is also the largest coal producer in the
Philippines, and the only power producer in the country that owns and mines its own fuel source
(coal).

What is the difference between ROM Coal and TPC Coal?

ROM or Run of Mine Coal is the raw coal that is mined out of the mine pit.  About 80% is Clean
Coal and the remaining 20% is Washable Coal.  Washable Coal is washed in the Coal Washing
Plant to get rid of contaminants, with a 60% average recovery.  The combination of Washed
Coal and Clean Coal becomes the Total Product Coal or TPC.

What is meant by strip ratio?

» it indicates the ratio between waste moved in cubic meters for every metric ton of coal
produced, such that a 10:1 strip ratio means 10 cubic meters of waste materials are hauled to
produce 1 ton of coal.

What is Semirara annual mining capacity?  What are there expansion plans?

» currently, there annual capacity is 4 to 4.5 million MTs ROM coal.  They are also considering
or planning to expand by 500 thousand MTs/year until we reach 5 million MT-capacity, which is
the maximum limit of present infrastructure capacity at the Panian Mine.

Processes
There are six (6) processes in harvesting coal in Semirara mining plant.
1. Extraction

» Large machines remove the overburden (top soil and rock layers) to expose the coal seam. The
coal deposit is then extracted using large excavators.

2. Crushing
» reduces the overall top size of the ROM coal so that it can be more easily handled and
processed within the CPP. Crushing requirements are an important part of CPP design and
there are a number of different types.

3. Sizing / Screening
» Screens in screening plant  are used to group process particles into ranges by size. These size
ranges are also called grades. Screens can be static, or mechanically vibrated. Screen decks can
be made from different materials such as high tensile steel, stainless steel, or polyethylene.

4. Coal cleaning
» Is a process by which impurities such as sulfur, ash, and rock are removed from coal to
upgrade its value. Coal cleaning processes are categorized as either physical cleaning or
chemical cleaning. Physical coal cleaning processes, the mechanical separation of coal from its
contaminants using differences in density, are by far the major processes in use today.

5. Coal Dewatering
» Dewatering screens are used to remove water from the product.

6. Stockpiling
» product coal is loaded directly into trucks for hauling to the stockpiles. Stockpiling helps
stabilize coal supply.

Estimated amount Reserves

According to the independent technical review done by Minarco Asia Pacific Pty Ltd. In
November 2004, proven recoverable reserves in the Panian Pit, where we are currently mining
our coal from,
» is 52 million metric tons (MTs), while there are 210 million tons of in-situ coal.  There are
another 120 million MTs of in-situ coal inside Himalian Mine, the mine which is still
unopened. “In-situ” means that additional confirmatory drillings are required to reclassify our
coal reserves to “proven and recoverable.”

» In 2006 Australian consultants supervised confirmatory drilling activities in the Panian Pit in
accordance with the Joint Ore Reserve Committee (JORC) standards of Australia (an
internationally recognized body for establishing mineable reserves).  As at 31 December 2006,
62 million MTs of coal were classified as measured and confirmed, while additional 24.5
million MTs and 6 million MTs were categorized as indicated and inferred, respectively.

Semirara Island reserves and other resources

What are the other resources in the island of Semirara? Do they have permit to mine them?

» apart from coal, Semirara island has about 824 thousand tons of silica, 1.2 billion tons of
limestone, and 2.9 million tons of clay.  Yes, they have the exclusive right to explore and mine
these reserves.  There present permit grants the company the exclusive right to explore them. 
The company has the option to convert the permit into a Mineral Production Sharing Agreement
(MPSA).  The MPSA grants the company the right to mine these other resources.

SEMIRARA ISLAND. Semirara Mining Corporation has the 'exclusive' right to mine Semirara Island in Antique. Source: DMCI
website.
When are they going to open Himalian mine?

» there are two events that could drive the opening of Himalian mine:  when demand for local
coal exceeds 5 million MTs per year or when the demand for cement goes up to justify putting up
a cement plant.  The ideal set-up in opening Himalian mine is to put up a cement plant right
beside the pit since the overburden of Himalian is mainly limestone and silica, two major
components of cement.  
 Coal Physical and Chemical Properties
Proximate Analysis (Air Dried, ASTM D3172)
Ash, %       -----------------------------------------------: 8 - 17
Fixed Carbon, %      -----------------------------------------------: 34 - 38
Volatile Combustible Matter, %    ----------------------- ------------------------: 36 - 40
Residual Moisture, %  (Air Dried) -----------------------------------------------: 14 - 16
Total Sulfur, % (Air Dried, ASTM D2015) -----------------------------------------------: 0.4 - 1.0
Gross Heating Value, BTU/lb. (Air Dried, ASTM D2015)------------------------------------: 8,700 -
10,200
Hardgrove Grindability Index -----------------------------------------------: 40
– 50
Size, mm -----------------------------------------------: 50
Fines, mm     -----------------------------------------------: 0-2
Ash Fusion Temperature, ºC
Initial Deformation Temp., ºC -----------------------------------------------:
1,120 – 1,150
Hemispherical Temp., ºC -----------------------------------------------: 1,150 –
1,250
Flow Temperature, ºC ----------------------------------------------: 1,250 –
1,500

Product Distribution and Utilization

» local buyers are composed of power plants, cement plants and other industrial plants.  We
have also started to export to China and India starting February 2007.  Most of our export sales
now are to China. 

Semirara plant greatest competitors?

» mainly suppliers of imported coal.  More than 90% of total coal production in the country is
produced by our company.

Contract and Agreement

What rights does the Coal Operating Contract grant Semirara?

» contract gives the company the exclusive right to conduct exploration, development, and coal-
mining operations in Semirara Island until the year July 2012.  On 13 May 2008, the
Department of Energy granted the company’s request for a fifteen (15)-year term extension of its
Coal Operating Contract.  The company’s right to mine in the island is extended up to 14 July
2027.

What happens after Semirara contract has expired?

» DOE expressed in its formal notice to us on 14 July 1995 that if necessary, an extension or a
new operating contract may be granted upon filing of an application for extension a year before
the expiration of contract.