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SECTION 2.0 BASIC PROJECT INFORMATION SMRI SEABED QUARRY PROJECT
Silverquest Mining Resources, Inc. Page 2
SECTION 1.0 BASIC PROJECT INFORMATION
Name of Project: GOVERNMENT SEABED QUARRY PROJECT
Proponent: SILVERQUEST MINING RESOURCES, INC. (SMRI)
Office address and Contact numbers:
Unit 103A ZEN Bldg., 8352 Mayapis St., San Antonio Village, Makati City.
Components: Dredging of mud, silt, sand and dredge filled materials from the sea-bed in support of the reclamation development of Manila Waterfront City Project
Location of Project: Municipal Waters Off the Coast of Ternate and Naic in Cavite
Project Type: Environmentally Critical Project (ECP) by EMB Memorandum Circular No. 2014-005 (July 7, 2014) – Guidelines for Coverage Screening and Standardized Requirements under the Philippine EIS System, Amending Relevant Portions of MC 2007-002 Under Sub Heading 2.1.3 – Classified as extraction of non-metallic minerals such as Aggregates (sand, stone, gravel, including dredging with or intended for recovery and use of materials).
Total Project Cost: P12 Billion
Total Manpower: More than 100 skilled and non-skilled workers
Proponent Contact Person:
EIA Preparer and Contact Person:
Prism Express Consulting, Inc. in collaboration with Environment & Climate Change Advisers, Inc. Engr. Allan R. Plete (EIA Project Director) Engr. Aldwin A. Camance (EIA Team Leader)
SECTION 2.0 PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The planned Project will involve dredging of mud, silts, sand and dredge fill materials from offshore areas
within jurisdiction of Cavite off Manila Bay and for use in the Manila Waterfront City Reclamation
Development; about 42 kilometers away from quarry site. Consistent with the protocols established under
the Revised Procedural Manual of the Philippine Environmental Impact Statement System (PEISS), the
Project Proponent, Silverquest Mining Resources, Inc. (SMRI) intends to apply for Environmental
Compliance Certificate (ECC) from the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) of the dredging
operations that would supply the required materials for reclamation.
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Figure 1 Proposed Cavite Seabed Quarry and Manila Waterfront City reclamation area
2.1 Project Location and Area
Location and Area. The proposed seabed quarry site has area of 2,124.3581 hectares off the coast
of Cavite in Manila Bay; within the municipal waters of Ternate and Naic (shown in the map). The
site/area is bounded by the Corregidor Island on the northwest, by Fort Drum to the west, by the
province of Cavite on the east, and shoreline of municipality of Ternate and Naic, Cavite to the
south.
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Geographic Coordinates of Project Area. Twenty-five (25) corner points have been established that define
the geographical coordinates of the seabed quarry area/site as provided in the map below. The
coordinates are vital for (a) identifying the extent of the area being applied for ECC; (b) providing
footprints from which the environmental impacts and assessments would take place, e.g., water
circulation, bathymetry; geotechnical investigation and marine surveys; c) determining the distances and
boundary limits of the site from critical habitats and nearby environs for purposes of maintaining an
adequate and safe buffer from such dredging activities; and (d) ascertain the boundaries of the LGUs
municipal waters for securing other governmental permits as may deemed required.
Figure 3 Corner points of the proposed seabed quarry area
Table 1 Geographic Coordinates of the Project Area
Corner no
1 14°17'46.00"N 120°38'21.50"E 15 14°20'12.15"N 120°44'41.01"E
2 14°17'60.00"N 120°38'31.80"E 16 14°20'0.00"N 120°44'0.00"E
3 14°18'14.35"N 120°38'42.08"E 17 14°20'0.00"N 120°43'35.00"E
4 14°18'30.00"N 120°38'42.08"E 18 14°19'30.00"N 120°42'60.00"E
5 14°18'45.00"N 120°38'41.15"E 19 14°19'10.00"N 120°42'43.40"E
6 14°18'60.00"N 120°38'30.00"E 20 14°18'37.00"N 120°42'24.00"E
7 14°19'10.08"N 120°38'21.35"E 21 14°18'20.00"N 120°42'0.00"E
8 14°19'20.00"N 120°38'10.00"E 22 14°17'60.00"N 120°41'30.00"E
9 14°19'33.69"N 120°38'21.00"E 23 14°18'5.00"N 120°41'14.69"E
10 14°19'33.69"N 120°42'60.00"E 24 14°18'12.00"N 120°40'0.00"E
11 14°20'55.91"N 120°44'41.01"E 25 14°18'12.00"N 120°39'0.00"E
12 14°20'53.63"N 120°45'30.75"E
13 14°20'46.80"N 120°45'24.87"E
14 14°20'43.61"N 120°45'9.35"E
Accessibility. For the activities of dredging, the dredging ships will travel to the quarry site
(location as described above) coming from the origin pier/jetty or nearby port of Manila, to
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conduct dredging activities, extracts and carries and loads the mud, silts, and sand to the
designated operational station for hydraulic reclamation, which location is in City of Manila some
42 kilometers away.
For purposes of dredging operations, the survey vessel/boat will sail off to Ternate from a jetty
pier origin; and plans to establish a small labour/workers camp in the town of Ternate, Cavite.
Locally motorized bancas in Ternate, which are readily available along its coastline shall be hired
and used to sail during the actual operations of dredging.
2.2 Project Rationale
Manila Bay is no doubt a prime gateway for socio-economic development of the Philippines and
the country’s most significant area in terms of economy and governance. However, the immense
ecological, economic, cultural, and historical values of Manila Bay and its sustainability are
seriously under challenged by the interconnected environmental, social, and economic and even
developmental pressures.
In the same context, such developmental pressures can and would support the acceleration of
growth in helping generate the much needed employment and revenues for the City LGUs and
developmental or government owned and controlled agencies like Philippine Reclamation
Authority (PRA), among others. Ultimately, it aims to render the continuous development and
social services, security and health care, among other services for the residents/people and
stakeholders and businesses around the Manila Bay Area.
This planned seabed quarry project of Silverquest Mining Resources Inc. (SMRI) will be very
important in supporting the Manila City Government’s intention to reclaim and develop areas that
will allow the city government with much needed and additional spaces for businesses,
government facilities and increase economic destination. Manila has few alternatives to meet
such increasing requirements to accommodate and satisfy the demand for rapid commercial and
residential growth. One of these is the creation of more lands along its coastal areas through
reclamation developments along the coastal areas of Manila Bay. It is imperative that the source
of reclamation materials must be nearby (for economy) but should not contribute to the increase
in pollution of the Bay. Thus, the option to obtain the dredge materials from the Bay itself was
considered and finally chosen as best alternative to supply the needs for the reclamation.
It would not be the first time that such area for seabed quarry was considered for the source of
dredging materials along the Bay. A previous Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) done in 2007
has identified the San Nicolas Shoal (SNS) as a prime area for dredging. In fact, a Government
Seabed Quarry Permit was issued to the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) in August of 2008,
which EIS Report of said SNS stated the absence of major marine species in the area. It also
indicated no coral cover in the area except for some 2-4% coral cover in the Municipality of
Ternate; the rest of the SNS quarry area has no coral communities.
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The PRA SNS Seabed Quarry and the proposed Silverquest Seabed Quarry Area is shown in Figure
5; the latest (2016) coastal resources mapping indicate the location of coral areas off Ternate as
shown in Figure 15. Both maps clearly show the proposed Silverquest Seabed Quarry Area is
within an already and generally considered by the Philippine Government as material source of
reclamation for Metro Manila development and an area devoid of coral cover.
PRA has obtained a Seabed Quarry permit for Phase 1 Area of 5,000 hectares. The Silverquest
Seabed Quarry actually falls within Phase 2 of the PRA SNS Quarry or an additional 5,000 hectares
more. Based on PRA EIS Report, the volume of reserve at SNS may reach up to 2.0 Billion cubic
meters (m3), which is way above the requirements of Manila Waterfront City Reclamation Project
of 60,000,000 m3. There is thus more than enough material in the SMRI area for dredging and
requirement for the reclamation.
Silverquest Mining Resources, Inc. is now subjecting its proposed Seabed Quarry site to the
Philippine Environmental Impact Statement System (PEISS) in order to obtain an ECC for dredging
the said quarry, which is not considered part of PRA SNS for its Seabed Quarry Project in 2007.
This PRA SNS area has secured ECC from EMB in 2008 under GQSP No. OMR 001-220-IV.
Figure 4 The Seabed Quarry vis-à-vis the PRA San Nicolas shoal area
2.3 Project Components List
There are four (4) sea vessels or ships to be used to dredge into the designated quarry area as
follows:
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Table 2 Ships to be used by the Project
No Name Hold Capacity
1 Tong Tu 20,000 22,320 12.5 6.5 90 2012
2 Tong Cheng 18,000 20,290 12 6.5 85 2010
3 Tong Xu 13,000 20,280 9 6 45 2008
4 Tong Yuan 10,000 15,457 9 4.5 40 2012
The seabed quarry ships will adopt the construction technology of digging - transporting – blowing
for dredging.
Afterwards the ship will carry the loaded mud, silts, and sand and bring to the designated
reclamation operation location/area some 40-42 kilometers away from the quarry site. The
illustration below provides the procedures of removing silts, mud, and other dredge fill materials
from the seabed.
2.4 Project Alternatives
The primary aim or objective of the SMRI Seabed Quarry Project is to provide the suitable dredge
fill materials to the planned Manila Waterfront City Reclamation project, which already secure
ECC from EMB sometime July 18, 2018. Thus, the fill materials for reclamation must be composed
of the same or similar materials as specified by reclamation design. It must be economical,
SECTION 2.0 PROJECT DESCRIPTION SMRI SEABED QUARRY PROJECT
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environmentally safe, and expeditious to develop. The materials to be dredged are mostly made
of mud, silt, sand and some rocky materials, which specifications are shown below:
General Specifications for Dredge Materials (Preliminary)
These materials shall be free of rock boulders, wood, scrap materials, and refuse
These have no high organic content
The particle size shall not exceed to100 mm diameter
It is capable of being compacted in the manner and to the density of not less than 95 %
Shall have a soaked CBR value not less than 25 % as determined by AASHTO T 193.
Other requirements for dredging will be made after the full completion of geotechnical
investigation and in consultation with the prospective Reclamation/Dredging Contractor.
Alternatives site that were considered in order to provide the said reclamation materials have
included the following site locations:
San Nicholas Shoal (SNS).
Since fill materials also come from the same Manila Bay with characteristics are relatively similar to the seabed at the quarry site, it minimizes the introduction of foreign or unwanted materials.
o Closest to project site o Does not have an ECC
Contracting out the source with another source or agency for the materials may raise costs like the Lahar from Mt. Pinatubo
o Suitability with respect to quality still to be evaluated o Transport considerations. o Cost considerations. o Permitting/Clearances consideration still to be established.
Sources from the river mouths or deltas in Pampanga, which spots sources are already saturated with other quarry operators;
Sources from the river mouths or deltas in Mindoro, which locations are is too far and expensive to operate
New Seabed Quarry sites located in Cavite o Same advantage with regards to materials as SNS o Close to the reclamation project site o Needs to undergo the PEISS as the SNS o A new Seabed Quarry permit and new ECC means that SILVERQUEST can
operate the quarry on its own, without a further layer of royalty cost from a PRA quarry.
It is from these considerations that a new Seabed Quarry Site off Ternate and Naic was
determined as best alternative for Manila Waterfront City Reclamation Project.
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2.5 Process Technology
2.5.1 Mandatory Requirements
The execution of Dredging Works, i.e. the start of the Construction Phase can only be
undertaken upon the securing a Government Seabed Quarry Permit or GSQP from Mines
and Geosciences Bureau (MGB). Some other major requisites are: (a) an Environmental
Compliance Certificate (ECC); (b) Letters of No Objections (LONO) from concerned
government entities; and (c) approval of Design and Engineering Details (DED), which are
typically undertaken after the ECC is secured.
The entities that issue LONO may impose its own agency requirements that would
ultimately influence the dredging methodologies and final planning. The Mines and
Geosciences Bureau (MGB), for example, will closely evaluate the Dredging Project with
respect to the issuance of Government Seabed Quarry Permit (GSQP). As experienced in
similar Manila Bay Reclamation Project, the MGB grants the permit while PRA regulates
the reclaimed land. Any changes in the permitting requirement will influence the overall
dredging planning.
2.5.2 Dredging Methodology
As mentioned earlier, the Trailing Suction method of dredging will be used in order to
spread the environmental impacts of dredging as opposed to suctioning while the ship is
on anchor. This is done in what is known as cohesionless deposits, such as sand or weakly
cemented granular deposits. A trailing suction dredger or hopper vessel with a trailing
arm suspended over the side and dragged over the sea bed, Figure 7 shows an illustration
of a trailing suction dredger.
Figure 6 A trailer Suction Dredger
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The vessel usually steams forward at around 6 knots or about 11 km/hour, automatically
compensating for swell and tidal variations while maintaining the drag head in contact
with the sea bed by means of a computerized hydraulic system.
The water/sand mixture is drawn on board by powerful pumps, passed through a series
of decanters and the solids deposited inside the internal hoppers whose capacity ranges
from 2,000 to more than 25,000 cubic meters. In this specific project, the ships to be used
will have capacities of between 10,000 to 20,000 cubic meters. The relatively clear,
decanted seawater is dumped overboard. The maximum dredging depth without
intermediate pumps is around 35 metres. With one or even two intermediate pumps the
dredging depth may be extended to 80 and 120 metres. These dredgers are fully
automated and dredging generally takes place over a 24-hour period, non-stop. The
dredged sand in the hoppers is then pumped onshore for reclamation via pipes laid out
ashore.
Built-in Measures
2.6.1 Pre-Construction Phase
No activities is anticipated under the Pre-Construction Phase that will cause or create
significant environmental impacts.
2.6.2 Construction Phase / Operations Phase
The environmental effects of sand and gravel extraction may include physical effects such
as the modification of sea bottom topography, the creation of turbidity plumes, substrate
alteration, changes in the local wave and current patterns, which may reach near the
coast and the distance is relatively close to Ternate or Naic. Biological effects of dredging
may include changes in the density, diversity, biomass, and community structure of the
benthos or fish populations as a consequence of the physical effects on the quarry site.
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Figure 7 Sand furrows due to trailer suction dredging
Dredged area may eventually regenerate but estimation of time is very difficult and
depends upon the extracted material, the geometry of the excavation, the water depth,
and the hydrodynamic regime of the system. Typical timescales for regeneration of
dredged furrows in sandy dynamic substrates lie within the range of months. In very
energetic shallow sandy areas, such as those found in estuaries, they may recover after
just one (or a few) tidal cycle. The area is benefited by high turbulence as shown in Figure
8 and 9 which may influence the regeneration rates of the substrate. These high velocities
allow for better regeneration rates of the substrates within the areas where the dredging
will occur. This will be studied further in the EIS.
2.7 Wastes
Since the dredging ships will have water in their hold as ballast, this ballast water is released at
the dredging/quarry area when mud and sand fills the vessel hold. The distance between two
areas (dredging and reclamation) is marginal thus ballast waters are from the same Manila Bay
hence, impacts maybe considered low. However, the pollution effects from the ballast water plus
sediment plumes arising from the dredging operations is considered significant but tolerable.
Surface turbid plumes are generated by the screening process and by the overflow of mud, silts
and sandy materials from the hopper during dredging. Further source of turbidity with a far lesser
quantity of suspended material may be caused by the mechanical disturbance of bed sediment
by the pipe. However, the large increases in suspended solid concentrations tend to be short-lived
and localized; close to the operating dredger. Though, turbid plumes with low suspended
sediment concentrations may affect much larger areas of the seabed, over extended time periods
(several days instead of several hours), especially when dredging is occurring simultaneously in
adjacent extraction areas.
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2.8 Project Cost and Duration
The total dredging operations is estimated to take place 220 days a year, since downtime due to
weather may account to about 4 to 4.5 months. Considering a yearly production rate of 8,932,000
cubic meters as provided below, the total dredging operations will take some 6 years and 7
months and would yield about 60 million cubic meters of dredge materials.
Table 3 Yearly Production Rates
No Name Hold Capacity
TOTAL 40,600 1,136,800 8,932,000
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SECTION 3.0 ANNEXES
3.1 Pictures of the Site
(July 2018) A secondary ground-truth activity was to run visual inspections, exploration and prospecting of the neighboring seabed areas of the stations, to assess the orography, coral reefs and epi-benthic community. The visibility was minimum, ranging from 0-2m, due to the water pollution in the water column and the dense silting at the bottom, which made it very difficult for the initially planned exploration dives.
Total Darkness at the seabed bottom while extracting the specimen samples.
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Example of Seabed bottom covered by clay and silt.
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Digging 0.5m or more to extract the specimen sample.
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Sediments hand grabbed from the seabed of SMD GSQPA 500 hectares as shown in Figure 6.
Sediments hand grabbed from the seabed of Silverquest GSQPA western portion as shown in Figure 6.
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Area delineated in green triangle is the 500-hectare EIS coverage for Sands; area delineated in blue triangle is the western portion of the EIS
coverage for Silverquest.
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3.2 Map of the Area
Figure 8 Overlay of DENR Coastal Resource Map of Luzoni and the project site.
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Figure 9 Flood Map of the areaii
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Figure 10 Rain Induced Landslide Mapiii
ENDNOTES SMRI SEABED QUARRY PROJECT
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ENDNOTES
i This dataset contains spatial extent of coastal resources specifically mangroves, corals, and
seagrasses/seaweeds in the coastal provinces of Luzon, Philippines (excluding Palawan). The data was
generated from digital/visual classification of Landsat 8 satellite images with 30 meters resolution and other
available high resolution satellite imageries using remote sensing and GIS tools, complemented by ground
validation survey conducted from 2013 to 2016
ii This dataset is a flood hazard map showing areas prone to flooding at 1:50,000 scale generated by the
Hazards Mapping for Effective Community-Based Disaster Risk Mitigation or the READY Project. Flooding
is a result of heavy or continuous rainfall exceeding the absorptive capacity of soil and the flow capacity of
rivers, streams, and coastal areas. This causes a watercourse to overflow its banks onto adjacent lands.
The source of hazard data is the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), dated 2012.The READY Project
is a collaborative effort of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines, the United Nations
Development Program (UNDP) and the Government of Australia Australian Aid (AusAID). The project aims
to address the problem of disaster risk management at the local level by empowering the most vulnerable
municipalities and cities in the country and enable them to prepare disaster risk management plans. The
project hopes to develop a systematic approach to community based disaster risk management. The targets
are selected 27 high risk Philippine provinces.The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) is the executing agency
while the collaborating National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) agencies are the Mines and
Geosciences Bureau (MGB), the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA), the
Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS-DOST), and the Philippine Atmospheric,
Geophysical, Astronomical and Services Administration (PAGASA-DOST).
iii This dataset is a hazard map showing the potential susceptibility of vulnerable areas prone to landslide
induced by rain generated by the Hazards Mapping for Effective Community-Based Disaster Risk Mitigation
or the READY Project. The source of hazard data is the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), dated
2012. A landslide, also known as a landslip, is a geological phenomenon that includes a wide range of
ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep failure of slopes and shallow debris flows. Landslides can occur
in offshore, coastal and onshore environments. Areas with low to gentle slopes and lacking tension cracks
have low susceptibility rating. Areas with moderate landslides susceptibility rating have inactive/old
landslides and tension cracks which are located away the community. These areas usually have moderate
slopes. Areas with high landslides susceptibility rating have active/recent landslides and tension cracks that
would directly affect the community. Those with steep slopes and drainage that are prone to landslide
damming are also highly susceptible to landslides. The possible landslide debris accumulation zones are
the area where landslides debris accumulate. The READY Project is a collaborative effort of the
Government of the Republic of the Philippines, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the
Government of Australia Australian Aid (AusAID). The project aims to address the problem of disaster risk
management at the local level by empowering the most vulnerable municipalities and cities in the country
and enable them to prepare disaster risk management plans. The project hopes to develop a systematic
approach to community based disaster risk management. The targets are selected 27 high risk Philippine
provinces. The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) is the executing agency while the collaborating National
Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) agencies are the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), the
National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA), the Philippine Institute of Volcanology
and Seismology (PHIVOLCS-DOST), and the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, Astronomical and
Services Administration (PAGASA-DOST).