Laboratory experiments showed that the researchers could increase the uranium concentration of the mineral material by combining flotation and magnetic separation, two mineral-processing techniques commonly used in the mining industry.

The process raised the uranium concentration from 244 parts per million (ppm) to 305 ppm, recovering approximately 73% of the uranium in the processed material.

The Larap–Paracale district has been associated with uranium exploration for decades. 

The latest research focused on Bessemer, Larap, where scientists collected 180 kilograms of mineralised material from a zone approximately half a metre wide.

Using microscopy, X-ray diffraction and elemental analysis, the researchers identified uraninite grains alongside copper-, molybdenum- and iron-bearing minerals.

The original samples contained 244 ppm of uranium, 0.57% copper, 0.49% molybdenum and 13.5% iron.

Identifying the minerals present was essential to determining how uranium could be separated from the other materials.

The researchers used a two-stage process to concentrate the uranium.

First, they applied flotation to separate copper- and molybdenum-bearing sulphide minerals. They then used magnetic separation to remove magnetite, an iron-rich magnetic mineral, leaving a non-magnetic fraction with a higher uranium concentration.

Despite the promising laboratory results, the study does not establish the size or commercial potential of the uranium occurrence in Larap.

The researchers examined surface samples, which cannot reveal the full depth, thickness or extent of the mineralised zones beneath the ground.

Determining whether the area contains a potentially economically significant uranium resource will require a much more extensive exploration programme.

This would involve detailed geological mapping, radiometric and geophysical surveys, systematic drilling and laboratory analysis of drill cores.

Such investigations would help establish the three-dimensional extent of the mineralisation and estimate its uranium content.

Even if substantial uranium resources are confirmed, further studies would be necessary to determine whether extraction is economically feasible and can meet environmental, radiological, regulatory and community requirements.

The findings therefore represent an early stage of resource evaluation rather than evidence of a commercially recoverable uranium reserve.

The Larap samples also contained copper, molybdenum and iron, highlighting the possibility of evaluating several minerals within the same geological area.

The researchers' processing method demonstrated how copper- and molybdenum-bearing sulphides could be separated during flotation, while magnetic separation removed iron-rich magnetite and concentrated uranium in the remaining material.

This multi-mineral approach is relevant to the government's push to develop a higher-value domestic minerals industry.

Executive Order No. 122, issued in August 2026, established a national framework for developing the Philippine critical minerals industry, emphasising investment, domestic processing, value addition and downstream manufacturing.

The Larap research could contribute to these efforts by building local expertise in identifying, characterising and processing complex mineral deposits.