Members of the team at the HMDC quarry. Foreground: Meyrick Tablizo. Background (Left to Right): Miguel Joven Villanueva, Jayce Eunice Salvador, Joval Esponilla, John Dominique Pagay, Nathan Raphael Marquez, Dr. Janine Ochoa, and Dr. Allan Gil Fernando.
Last July 6-13, 2026, members of the Nannoworks Laboratory conducted paleontological fieldwork in the municipality of Bacnotan in La Union Province. The team consisted of laboratory co-head Dr. Allan Gil S. Fernando, former NIGS Instructor and University of Cambridge PhD student Mr. Meyrick U. Tablizo, NIGS URA-I and MS Geology student Mr. Miguel Joven E. Villanueva, Dr. Janine P. Ochoa from the UP School of Archaeology, Nannoworks BS Geology alumni Mr. Nathan Raphael F. Marquez, Mr. John Dominique M. Pagay, and Ms. Jayce Eunice B. Salvador, and NIGS driver Mr. Joval Y. Esponilla.
Exposures of the vertebrate fossil-bearing paleochannel deposit in the HMDC quarry site, Bacnotan, La Union.
The team worked inside the quarry site of the Helix Mining and Development Corporation (HMDC) in Bacnotan, which is the location of a paleochannel deposit that has yielded numerous vertebrate fossils since its discovery in 2019. Fossils collected during the fieldwork included tooth fragments, parts of limb bones, and some vertebrae. These finds are another step in understanding the terrestrial mammalian paleofauna of La Union and will serve as research material for the Nannoworks Laboratory’s “Verts Group” (Meyrick, Miguel, and Nathan). Several outcrops outside the HMDC quarry site in Bacnotan and Balaoan were also visited and examined, providing additional insights into the geologic history of the area.
Vertebrate fossils collected in situ at the paleochannel deposit in the HMDC quarry site, Bacnotan, La Union.
The team would like to thank the Provincial Government of La Union for partly sponsoring the fieldwork, especially to Gov. Mario Eduardo Ortega and Ms. Shereal Maala-Catbagan of PG-ENRO, Mr. Jerome Castroverde (Mining Operations Management) and Engr. Resty Bulanon (Safety Engineer) from HMDC for their support during the fieldwork, and the staff of Sebay Surf Central for their hospitality during the team’s week-long stay in the province.