Semirara is an island in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

located at in the Caluya archipelago which is situated south of

Mindoro Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ) and has a population of 1,408,454 as of 2020 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of Luz ...

Island. It is under the jurisdiction of the town of

Caluya Caluya, officially the Municipality of Caluya ( krj, Banwa kang Caluya; hil, Banwa sang Caluya; tl, Bayan ng Caluya), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Antique, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 38,90 ...

of the province of

Antique An antique ( la, antiquus; 'old', 'ancient') is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely ...

. It is a major site of

coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

in the Philippines. Other economic activities in the island include fishing, seashell gathering, and farming.

History

The island was declared a mineral reservation by President

Manuel Quezon Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina, (; 19 August 1878 – 1 August 1944), also known by his initials MLQ, was a Filipino lawyer, statesman, soldier and politician who served as president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1935 until his dea ...

in 1940 through Proclamation No. 649. Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SPMC) opened its first coal mine in the island in Unong in 1984 which operated until 2000 and the area's vegetation and lake restored years later. The company then opened several more mines including the Panian Pit which operated until in October 2016 shortly after its coal deposits depleted. SPMC also opened the Narra Pit and the Molave Pit in Semirara Island, both which started commercial operations in the same year.

Administration

Semirara Island is part of the municipality of

of the province of

. The island itself consists of three

barangays A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolitan ...

of Caluya; Alegria, Semirara, and Tinogbok.

Geography

Semirara is an island which has a land area of about . The island also has a saltwater lake in its southeastern portion, which was the former site of the Unong mine. A freshwater lake also exists north of the island where the Panian mine used to be.

Coal mining

There are two active coal mines operated by the Semirara Mining and Power Corp as of January 2020; the Narra Pit and the Molave Pit, both of which are each. Coal in Semirara is characterized as sub-bituminous C coal with a high moisture content based on

ASTM ASTM International, formerly known as American Society for Testing and Materials, is an international standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, an ...

. ;List of coal mines *Narra Pit *Molave Pit *Panian Pit *Unong Pit

Transportation

Semirara has an

airstrip An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

which serves chartered flights from

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

. The island is also accessible by boat, specifically from the town of San Jose in neighboring province of

Occidental Mindoro Occidental Mindoro ( tl, Kanlurang Mindoro), officially the Province of Occidental Mindoro, is a province in the Philippines located in the Mimaropa region. The province occupies the western half of the island of Mindoro. Its capital is Mambura ...

. Motorized tricycles also provides a means of land transportation within the island.

Environment

Semirara is host to 21

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...

species which accounts for 60 percent of the total of 35 recorded mangrove species in the Philippines. Waste produced as a byproduct of coal mining in Semirara has been a concern by residents. Waters adjacent to Semirara also host all recorded

giant clam The giant clams are the members of the clam genus ''Tridacna'' that are the largest living bivalve mollusks. There are actually several species of "giant clams" in the genus ''Tridacna'', which are often misidentified for ''Tridacna gigas'', th ...

species in the

. The Semirara Marine Hatchery Laboratory was set up in 2010 by SPMC in the island as the marine rehabilitation arm of the company as well as to develop marine-based livelihood for its host communities.

References

{{reflist Islands of Antique (province) Coal mines in the Philippines