Anniversary Dinner 2011

Last August 13, 2011, the University of the Philippines Geological Society held an alumni dinner at Ral’s Restaurant, UP Technohub. It was a celebration of the organization’s 54^th anniversary. It also turned out to be a good luck party for the 2011 graduates who were about to take their Geology Licensure Examinations a week later. It sure was a night filled with sumptuous food, good music, laughter, some reminiscing, and even inspirational remarks from our alumni.  It served the purpose of catching up with everyone, as well as gathering up to celebrate our beloved organization’s foundation, and continuing success.

           The program started with a welcoming remark from the current president, Conchitina Yu, and followed by two song numbers by Chryselle Ultima Mancenido. Then, an eat-all-you-can buffet dinner was accompanied by serenading music from the band.  After everyone enjoyed their meals, the hosts of the night, JP Mendoza and Hariette Laroco, surprised everyone with a video prepared by the members. The video was a slideshow of pictures from different batches as well as messages and greetings from current professors in NIGS who are GeoSoc alumni. At the end of the video, good luck messages from some resident members were dedicated to the fresh graduates. Then the graduates, Jigo Mismanos, Richard Ybanez, Karizz Morante, John Dale Dianala, Kevin Guellermo, Gaea Roselle and Jillyka Julianda all gave their thank you and inspirational messages after they were given good luck charms for the upcoming examinations.

The presence of Dr. Roger Laraya and his wife was also acknowledged by the hosts. He was called in to give a message for the organization. He obliged and not only did he talk about praises, but also gave tips for the undergraduate geology students and pointers on choosing our partners in life. We were all humbled by his stories and advices on life itself. According to Dr. Laraya, a geologist must choose an understanding partner, for we all know, that fieldworks require us to be away from our homes most of the time. Indeed, he was able to make his point through to all of us listening and with that, we were sincerely happy for his presence that night. As he was about to leave, pictures were taken for documentation and remembrance purposes.

Games and videoke sessions made the night much more fun for everyone who was there until about eleven o’clock pm. Undeniably, University of the Philippines Geological Society is a one big happy family of mixed personalities united for only one goal, excellence (on top of all kinds of stress, academic pressure and social life).#

- Dana Marie Sunga

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GeoSoc Mine Visit 2011

  Geosoc together with other geology students went to Padcal, Benguet to visit the mining area of the Philex mining corporation last April 2-3, 2011. This activity aims to broaden the knowledge of the geology students in the field of mining, to give them a background of the mining industry, and to expose them to what they will be doing in the future if they choose to pursue mining.

                We first visited the Philex museum. There we found samples of rocks, in different forms, commonly associated with gold. Models of the mining processes can also be viewed inside the museum. This gave us an idea of the complexities of the mining industry and also an overview of how the whole mining stuff works.

                After the museum, we went to the “core log house” which stores hundreds or even thousands of core logs that were drilled recently or even years ago. These served as references to where the mining should take place. This core logging, highlights the main role of the geologists in the mining industry. They are responsible for the directions of the drilling. They will identify the rocks present in the core and then they will know the orientation or position of the minable materials such as gold through association. It may sound simple but the task should be carried out with utmost care and thinking because each drilling costs a lot of money.

                Next to the “core log house” was the assay laboratory. The team demonstrated to us the preparations they do for the analysis of the samples and for knowing the percentage composition of each sample. There, we observed under a microscope a flake of gold embedded in a rock.

                After the laboratory, we proceeded to the briefing and distribution of the equipments for our trip underground. Everyone was excited to descend underground with the complete outfit and gears. The whole trip was tiring but fun and full of experience. We were able to see the actualities of mining especially the part on exploration. We were also able to observe the organization inside the mine – the different roles the people play in order to carry out the mining process. For example, the role of mining engineers, mechanical engineers, geologists, etc. It was just amazing to think that we were actually in the core of the mountain thousands of meters from the surface. And with us were huge tanks and bulldozers very busy on their respective tasks.

                Next was the “mill operations”. This is where the processing of the ores gathered from the mining production lines take place. The end products here are the extracted important metals from the ore ready for export or transport for further processing. The process involves big machineries. The process seemed to be complicated but according to the metallurgical engineer that toured us, “It is just as simple Chem16.”

Philex provided us with free accommodation in their student dormitory. There, we stayed overnight after that long busy day. Even though everyone is tired, we still had time to do some recreations. The hours before going to sleep served as bonding time for all the students who joined the mine visit. Thanks to Philex.#

- Kimberly A. Ilao

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