Young metallurgical engineer makes waves in TVIRD Canatuan
As a young boy growing up in a rural community in the Northern Philippines, Chester James de Leon was fascinated with high technology gadgets. His passion to explore and to discover how things were made was reflected by his initial eagerness to dismantle and then reassemble electrical sockets at home in Tuguegarao, Cagayan. Later on, when he was a college student, he would dismantle and reassemble computers. Soon he became popular among his classmates and friends as a reliable technician, fixing their computers for free. He also became a Math Olympiad champion and, in 2007, shortly after completing his Metallurgical Engineering degree at the state-run University of the Philippines, he landed the top spot of the government professional licensure examination for the degree he finished.
Now, at 25 Chester – “Ches” to his colleagues – is one of the valued assets of TVI Resource Development Philippines, Inc., (TVIRD), where he works as one of the three Mill Department Process Control Metallurgists at the company’s Canatuan Copper-Zinc operations in Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte, in the Southern Philippines.
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Chester de Leon (left) confers with his boss, Mill Department Manager Germidas Laspinas. Ches, along with his colleagues in the Process Control Engineering unit, designed a database that provides TVIRD Canatuan management team with information critical to major decisions that have to be made for the entire processing plant.
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Ches assumed his post with youthful zeal and mature dedication, says his boss, Mill Department Manager Germidas Laspiñas. “Ches is very organized, and I think his major accomplishment and contribution to our department was the creation of a database that provides us with information critical to major decisions that we make not only for Mill operations, but for the entire processing plant as well,” says Laspiñas. Ches designed and completed the database along with Boots Henry Tamala and Fe Curay, his colleagues in the Process Control Engineering unit.
The Mill Department, together with the Mine, Maintenance, and Assay Laboratory departments of TVIRD Canatuan, have performed well, resulting in consistent on-time shipments of copper concentrate that meet the requirements of the off-take buyer abroad – all at a reduced cash cost per copper-pound (Cu lb) equivalent of US$0.47 in August versus the year-to-date figure of US$0.61.
Laspiñas recalls that before Chester joined the Mill, the frequent problem was the limited operations and plant data, including information on crushing, grinding, flotation and filtration equipment. “We had to scan every daily report if we wanted previous data on the percentages of copper or zinc recovered or other information that would help improve production. Now, with the database that Chester, Fe and Boots put together, a click on the computer will show information on the moisture, concentrate grades, percentage of arsenic, gold and silver, or even the copper concentrate stocked at our Santa Maria Warehouse in Siocon town. Even data regarding the power draw of our major equipment at the Plant is available in the database, including records of the SAG Mill’s downtime. This data can be accessed by the Vice President for Operations, the Canatuan General Manager, the Assay Laboratory, the Maintenance Department or anyone authorized from within the company. Of course, we never did it alone. The regular coordination meetings we have with the Mine and the Maintenance departments helped us optimize our Plant and reach our production goal.”
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In photo above, Chester (second from left, facing camera) attends a coordination meeting among members of the Mill, Mine, Assay Laboratory and Maintenance departments, presider over by TVIRD Canatuan GM Ely Valmores (far left). Below, Chester gives instructions to Rakib Mucol, a Muslim re-agent man from Siocon. Chester is regarded as a good team player by his superiors and peers alike.
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Ches shares that the Process Control Engineering unit where he belongs acts as technical support for the Mill operations. His team makes sure that the unit processes and plant equipment are operated at their optimum condition with regard to the aspects of metallurgy and economics. “Ultimately,” he says, “our task is to put together production strategies and the optimization of all equipment in the plant until the end of the mine life,”
Laspiñas recalls that production started with just 200 tons per day until it reached 1800. However, production would not have been optimized without the study made by the group of Mill Superintendent Reynaldo Carubio, Metallurgical Lab Consultant Evaristo Tipgos, Chief Metallurgist Edgar Arellano and Chester’s team. “Every throughput increase stands on solid ground after the studies and analyses made by the Mill’s ‘think thank’”, says Laspiñas.
Ches says that when he assumed his post last June the plant was still at the “debugging” stage. With the guidance and direction from Yulo Perez, TVIRD Vice President for Philippine Operations, and carried out by the Maintenance, Mill and Mine departments, plant availability has increased considerably.“ As of September availability is already at 97%,” says Laspiñas. He attributes the plant’s present status to the inputs of the Process Control Engineering team and the Maintenance Department that made the plant available for 24/7 operations.
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The close coordination among departments has made possible the optimization of production in, and the high level of availability of, the Sulphide Plant.
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Ches’ colleagues consider him an excellent team player. Ricky dela Cruz, Mill Supervisor, says “Ches shares his knowledge with us. He is never selfish and is easy to deal with. His feet are always firmly planted on the ground. He is friendly to everyone. That is why he is respected by everybody.”
Nestor Alipaopao, flotation operator, agrees: “Ches is a nice guy. I like him. He is serious about our work. But he knows how to joke around, too.” This opinion is shared by Rakib Muloc, a plant Reagent Man.
Always an optimist, Ches says “What I love about my job is the fact that everyday is a learning experience for me. Each day, I am exposed to different situations where I gain new knowledge and experiences. It excites me whenever we do studies and plant testing, particularly when what we are about to do has a great impact on the production at the Mill. The feeling is rewarding when the optimization studies that we made are successfully implemented.”
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Chester at work. Despite his impressive credentials and his being a high flyer in TVIRD’s Canatuan operations, his feet remain firmly planted on the ground.
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Married only six months ago to Gemma, an accountant whom he met at another mining company where he previously worked as a metallurgical engineer, Ches only has good words for his boss whom he says is giving him the trust, confidence and the space to develop his potential to the fullest. “He is there to guide and give us the directions we need, but he never dictates to us. He drives us by delegating new, challenging responsibilities.”
He also appreciates the management style of the Canatuan Management team. “What I appreciate about Management is the way they motivate us so that we will be able to perform our best even as they consistently provide us with guidance and coaching. The motivation allows us to do more. The knowledge and experience we gain are constantly deposited into our professional piggy bank.”
Ches points out that he is happy and contented with the company. He sees TVIRD as an example of a company that engages in responsible mining by managing the impact of its operations in a workplace that is community- and environment-friendly. It is, by his own description, an employee-friendly firm too. He may be far from his family, as is the case in most mine areas. But being far from home only makes him love his family more. During the times he is away, however, he focuses on his work, learns a lot from it, and in the process, gains the trust and respect of his superiors and colleagues. These only make him more motivated to be a consistent contributor to TVIRD Canatuan’s business goals, and to be a responsible family man and husband – things that he is already proving to be very good at. (Lullie Micabalo)
