By Rhodina Villanueva (The
Philippine Star) | Updated September 21, 2016 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines – The Department
of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is set to decide today whether to
suspend at least 10 mining firms that have undergone auditing on their
compliance with government standards.
“I met with the audit teams. I’m
very careful about saying anything because it will send a message. Whatever the
results of the audit, it will show that these are the standards of mining in
our country so I want to do it really well,” DENR Secretary Gina Lopez said in
an interview.
The DENR chief will have a full-day
meeting with the audit teams today, after which their decision will be
announced.
So far, the DENR has suspended
operations of 10 mining companies.
The three firms recently suspended
were the Bulacan-based Ore Asia Mining Development Corp. as well as Mt. Sinai
Exploration Mining and Development Corp. and EMIR Mineral Resources Corp., both
in Homonhon, Eastern Samar.
Ore Asia reportedly failed to secure
an ISO 14001 certification. ISO is the International Organization for
Standardization or an international standard-setting body
composed of representatives from various national standards organizations.
On the other hand, Mt. Sinai, which
mines chromite, and the nickel-producing EMIR Minerals caused siltation of the
coastal waters.
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