posted November 21, 2016 at 09:35 pm by Alena Mae S. Flores
Semirara Mining and Power Corp. is
in talks with the Energy Department and the local government unit of Antique on
the final land use plan for Panian mine.
“We want to turn over something that
will continue to benefit the government and host community. Island
sustainability is our main concern,” Semirara president and chief operating
Victor Consunji said in a statement.
Semirara said it was now working to
restore the ecological balance of Panian pit, which was recently closed
following the depletion of its mineable coal reserves.
The depletion was certified by the
Energy Department after its visit to Semirara Island on Sept. 20 to 21.
“Our goal is to restore the
topography of Panian and promote flora and fauna growth in the area,” Consunji
said.
Prior to pre-mine operation, Panian
area was characterized by rolling hills of open grasslands and numerous gullies
with shrubs and trees.
Semirara has begun filling Panian
pit with overburden materials from Molave and Narra Mines, its two operating
pits to restore the ecological balance of the area.
Initial progressive rehabilitation
was also started in 2005 near Casay Lake at the western part of Panian. To
date, over 250 hectares of the area have been planted with nearly 2 million
trees.
Once the Panian mine pit becomes a
stable landform, Semirara will cover the area with humic acid, compost and
other materials to add nutrients to the soil.
Semirara said a massive
reforestation program would involve endemic and suitable plant species.
“The in-pit of Panian mine would no
longer look like a depleted mine since the final elevation would be around -10
meters at the northern side and +30 meters at the central barricade and +10
meters at the southern side,” said Consunji.
The over 10-meter elevation is
planned to be a fresh water reservoir while the bottom part is being eyed as a
possible beach resort, grazing land, pearl farm or marine sanctuary that will
be turned over to the local government unit for possible development into an
ecotourism spot.
Semirara is the only power producer
in the Philippines that generates its own fuel. It produces over 800 MW of
baseload power for the Luzon grid.
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