By: Ronnel W. Domingo 03:10 AM September 28th, 2016
LARGE-SCALE miners yesterday decried
the results of the audit by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources
(DENR), as eight of them face possible suspension of operation.
Ronald Recidoro, vice president for
policy at the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP), said in a statement
the audit “was done in a punitive manner rather than objectively.”
The eight COMP members that failed
the audit are Filminera Resources Corp., Marcventures Mining and Development
Corp., Agata Mining Ventures Inc., CTP Construction and Mining Corp., Hinatuan
Mining Corp., Benguet Corp., Lepanto Consolidated Mining Co., and OceanaGold
Philippines Inc.
“Our member-companies will comply
with the seven days given them to address the issues raised against their
operations,” Recidoro said.
He said the chamber was standing by
its member-companies. “We are optimistic that these alleged violations will be
addressed properly and in a timely manner.”
The lawyer said there should have
been a dialogue between companies and the DENR, considering that the audit was
finished in August.
“As early as August, the alleged
violations could have already been addressed instead of setting a trap for
suspension,” he said.
‘Not
impartial’
The chamber earlier said the audit
was “not totally impartial” due to the presence of antimining civil society
organizations in the audit teams.
Still, Recidoro said chamber members
with show-cause orders were receptive to the call of Environment Secretary
Regina Lopez to dialogue with her office.
Of the 11 companies not facing
possible suspension, eight are COMP members, namely Philex Mining Corp., Rio
Tuba Nickel Mining Corp., Atlas Mining Corp., Cagdianao Mining Corp., Taganito
Mining Corp., Platinum Group Metals Corp., Philsaga Mining Corp. and Greenstone
Resources Mining Corp.
In a separate statement, Benguet
Corp. took exception to the audit findings, which called out the company for
the nonrehabilitation of the Antamok open pit.
Benguet Corp said it was
continuously exerting efforts to initiate projects, including converting the
pit into a bulk water project or a waste-to-energy facility.
“Local government units have in fact
requested and endorsed the pursuit of the projects, signing memorandum of
agreements with (Benguet) as early as June 2016,” it said.
“While (Benguet)
recognizes there was delay in the rehabilitation of the open pit for reasons
beyond its control, it has not abandoned it,” it added.
OceanaGold
OceanaGold said its Philippine
subsidiary had not received any formal order from the DENR, and that it was
seeking clarification and details of the audit.
According to the DENR, the
suspension of OceanaGold’s project in Nueva Vizcaya was partly due to perceived
dangers from underground mining, a petition from locals for the cancellation of
financial and technical assistance agreement (FTAA), and the preference of the
local government for agriculture and agro-forestry over mining.
Mick Wilkes, OceanaGold president
and chief executive officer, said that in the meantime, mining and processing
activities were continuing at the Didipio mine.
He said OceanaGold intended to
“consider all avenues, including working collaboratively with the DENR, to
facilitate the immediate resolution of this matter to ensure no disruption to
our operations and our valued local workforce.”
“We are disappointed with the
statements made earlier [yesterday] and will seek clarification and
reconsideration from the DENR to further understand and rectify this matter in
short order,” Wilkes said.
“The Didipio mine has a strong
social license to operate,” he added. “Our achievements since recommencement of
construction in 2011 would not have been achieved without our steadfast
commitment to the community and most importantly the strong endorsement from
the residents of Didipio and the nine other communities in the provinces of
Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino.”
SR Metals
SR Metals Inc. (SMRI) said it had
not received an official copy of the audit findings.
“We are confident that the two
issues raised (by the audit team) particularly access to the provincial road
and new municipal resolution will be clarified,” SMRI president Miguel Alberto
Gutierrez said.
“We continue to act in accordance
with responsible mining,” he added.
Lepanto
In Mankayan town, Benguet province,
Joan Gatchelian, information officer of Lepanto, said the company had yet to
receive any communication from the DENR regarding the suspension of its
operations.
But based on the audit report signed
last month by both the head of the DENR audit team and the Lepanto
representative, the company had “complied with the provisions of the
environmental and mining laws, rules and regulations, thus no penalty [was]
recommended by the team,” Gatchelian said.
Xavier Akien, convenor of the
Benguet-Abra-Mountain Province-Ilocos Sur Mining Watch, said the group urged
the mining firm to drain its tailings dam of excess water to stabilize it
before it is shut down. With a report from Kimberlie Quitasol, Inquirer
Northern Luzon
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