From Engr. Gabriel Pamintuan:
It was fun revisiting a place where I first worked as a student back in the 80s; Acupan and Balatoc are now a far cry from when I last saw them this close (I visited the Balatoc Mine Museum a few years ago), with all the small-scale mining activities . . .
Yesterday, we traced the Ambalanga River to Agno, from Acupan to almost Binga Dam, in half a day, with some sampling and sightseeing on the side; along the way, a big bridge usually means a sampling point (and perhaps, some photo ops) to the project staff . . .
Going downstream the Ambalanga showed the signs of gold mining -- a lot of it -- plus some of Mother Nature's gifts, including hot springs and waterfalls . . . It was amusing to hear from some locals that they wanted the tailings from upstream to flow ("inundate" is perhaps a better term to reflect the wish -- but that would mean a disaster) downstream so they can also benefit from the potential earnings that can be had from panning . . .
The resorts at the 1300 Level Swimming Pool Area are at the same elevation where the Acupan mine reached before it got flooded due to the 1990 earthquake (development was working its way down from 1300 to 1400 during my summer mine and mill practice); coincidence?
We wanted to see the exact point where the Ambalanga entered the Agno -- perhaps downstream of the Binga Dam -- that will require a little more travel and/or hiking; but we saw where the Lukbuban and the Ucab Creeks merged with the Ambalanga . . .
The big bend of the Agno River at Tinongdan, just downstream Binga Dam was (is) a sight to behold, with the river, swinging northward, westward then southward due to a resistant ridge in the middle of the river; the road to Dalupirip paralleled the Agno in its southward course. I would like to visit Dalupirip sometime in the future, not only because of its geologic significance, but I heard it was really beautiful there . . .