Louise Maureen Simeon (The
Philippine Star) - September 18, 2018 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — The country’s
mining industry has called on the government to take a tougher stance on
illegal mining operations in the country following the deaths of miners in
Benguet due to landslides at the height of Typhoon Ompong.
“Illegal small-scale minining does
not employ the same stringent safety practices required of legitimate
large-scale mining operators,” the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines said in
a statement.
Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu
issued an order stopping small-scale mining operations after at least 30 people
died in a landslide in Itogon, Benguet.
Benguet Corp., a member of
COMP, clarified that the victims were part of the illegal gold mining activities
near an old abandoned bunkhouse of the company.
The area is a few kilometers away
from the company’s Balatoc and Dalicno underground mines in Itogon.
In a separate regulatory filing with
the Philippine Stock Exchange, Benguet said subsequent warnings and notices for
the small-scale miners to vacate the area were met with resistance and outright
refusal.
“We issued notices to the
small-scale miners who have occupied the old bunkhouse or put up shanties that
the area has been declared as geohazard by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau and
is unsafe for habitation,” the company said.
Despite this, Benguet said it
deployed rescue teams in partnership with the MGB-Cordillera to participate in
the search, rescue and retrieval operations in the areas affected.
Even Pangilinan-led Philex Mining
Corp., which operates the Padcal mine in Benguet, also deployed rescue
teams.
There were no reported casualties in
the host mining communities of Benguet and Philex.
It is estimated that more than 60
percent of the gold mined in the country comes from unregulated small-scale
mining operations.
“Apart from endangering the lives of
poor mining workers and destroying the environment, illegal small-scale miners
do not pay taxes and are the breeding ground of other social ills, such as
child labor, prostitution, illegal drugs, gun running, and use of banned toxic
chemicals,” COMP said.
Last July, the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources excluded small-scale mining in the moratorium
on new projects.
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