Last March 10, 2014, the Philippine Associated Smelting and Refining Corporation (PASAR) plant has resumed operations, after it has ceased production for 4 months which was temporarily suspended due to some destruction by Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) that hit the Visayas in Nov. 8, 2013. Initial charging that restarted at 8:25 in the morning of March 10 it has totally generated 1,060 tons concentrates after 24 hours. As of March 20, ten days after it re-started operations it continued to charge with a total copper concentrate at 20,732 tons. According to Copper Flash Bulletin, the official organ of PASAR Corporation, the resumption of this operation resulted in the production of anodes with 99.38% copper content and its rejects has its all time low of 0.99% only. By this time PASAR shall have fed a total of 42,157 tons of Copper concentrate with the Refinery production a total of 1,200 tons of electrolytic copper cathodes. In spite of its losses that has reached the million mark, due to Yolanda, the strongest typhoon that hit the country in a hundred years (Typhoon Ogis in 1912) was just as strong) PASAR continued to manifest their heartfelt generosity to people who live within its territorial influence in Isabel. Thousands of Isabelanons whose dwellings were leveled to the ground by Yolanda, were all happy recipients of shelter packs from the PASAR Foundation Inc. (PFI). The shelter packs were distributed to affected dwellings in 24 barangays from January to March. Some, 2,638 families were beneficiaries of this kind of PASAR generosity. Each shelter packs consisted of 12 corrugated G.I., 2 plain GI sheets; 8-5 kilograms of assorted nails worth about P5 thousand. The recipients had also access to carpentry tools like hammer, saws, shovels and plies as these were given to each barangay to be borrowed by those who were undergoing repairs of their dwellings. Meanwhile PASAR President David Halley has expressed elation at the fast rehabilitation efforts of the smelting plant saying the plant is now “looking good”. Along this line he urged everyone to help on the continuing “housekeeping” efforts in their respective areas of assignment in the plant.
(By: Alvin Gz. Arpon)
