Published November 30, 2018, 10:00
PM By
Madelaine B. Miraflor
As the Mines and Geosciences Bureau
(MGB) attempts to improve “the overall governance structure” in the mining
sector, mining companies were also told to cooperate with the government and
ramp up efforts on preserving the environment and natural resources.
In a statement, MGB Director
Wilfredo Moncano expressed hope for the mining companies to continue to ramp up
their efforts in reforestation and preservation of the environment and natural
resources.
He then commended mining companies
for doing a great job in cooperating with the government and for helping
improving the overall governance structure in mining.
“I would like to say that you are
doing a great job in complying with the government’s directives and in
cooperating with us, to address the gaps in the regulatory system and improving
the overall governance structure in mining,” he said.
MGB recently led the distribution of
presidential awards to mining companies which was held as part of the 65th
Annual National Mine Safety Environment Conference (ANMSEC).
During ANMSEC, three companies,
which excelled in surface mining operation and mineral processing over the past
12 months, received the Presidential Mineral Industry Environmental Award
(PMIEA).
The PMIEA, the highest award the
Philippine government gives to mining companies, was established under
Executive Order No. 399 on February 3, 1997 in compliance with the policy that
mineral exploration activities and mining operations shall not only be
pro-environment but also pro-people.
The awardees were recommended by
state-run mine regulator MGB and selected by an inter-agency selection
committee.
The companies that topped the
Surface Mining category this year are Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Corp. (RTNMC) and
Agata Mining Ventures, Inc., while Coral Bay Nickel Corp. is the sole PMIEA
awardee for the Mineral Processing category.
No mining firm was awarded under the
Quarry Operation and Mineral Exploration categories.
RTNMC is a subsidiary of Nickel Asia
Corp., the largest nickel producer in the Philippines, while Agata Mining
operates under TVI Resource Development Philippines, Inc., a mining company
controlled by former Senator Manny Villar.
Coral Bay, on the other hand, is
owned by Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Mitsui & Co., Sojitz Corporation. It is
also partly owned by RTNMC.
Moncano said the result of the
awards was presented to the Office of the President (OP) prior to ANMSEC).
Neither Moncano or Environment Secretary
Roy Cimatu would confirm if President Rodrigo Duterte saw the results before
being given the OP’s green light.
“There were guidelines for the
selection of the awardees. There has been no conflict. For those who were
nominated in the awards, most of them were only being asked to do minor
corrections on their operations,” Moncano told reporters.
The word on the street is that
another miner, SR Metals, Inc. (SRMI), was also supposed to receive the PMIEA
award like it did last year.
But since it went through a
voluntary suspension some time this year, the PMIEA Selection Committee,
composed of the cabinet secretaries, government officials, and mining
stakeholders, decided to not include the firm on the list.
Nevertheless, SRMI received a
Platinum award for Surface Mining category since it received a “certain score,”
as per Moncano, despite not being able to completely operate within a 12-month
period.
PMIEA is part of the ANMSEC, which
was organized by Philippine Mine Safety and Environment Association (PMSEA).
During the awarding ceremony, Cimatu
reiterated his intention to work with miners for the advancement of the highly
scrutinized industry.
When asked about the timing of the
release of his decision on the motion for reconsideration (MRs) filed by
several miners that are at the risk of being suspended and closed, which came
more than a week before ANMSEC, Cimatu said there was just really a timetable
being followed for both events.
No comments:
Post a Comment