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Friday, August 26, 2005
State pins hopes on Cebu’s mining
If the Mines and Geo-sciences Bureau (MGB) 7 has its way, Cebu will become a model for sustainable mining.
Under the Mining Act of 1995, mining companies are required to establish and implement environmental protection and social development programs.
These also include community assistance projects, said MGB 7 Director Roger de Dios.
“Communities can attest to what mining companies have done so far,” he said in a press conference yesterday, following a stakeholders’ forum on mining.
The environmental protection and enhancement program (EPEP) of mining companies should include the creation of a monitoring team that will report to the MGB and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) any violation of environmental and mine safety provisions.
When the Atlas mine in Toledo City reopens, de Dios said, it will be made to comply with the same laws and regulations.
MGB Director Jeremias Dolino announced that preparations to reopen the Atlas mine are ongoing, as it plans to begin operation in 2007.
With the country’s rich mineral reserves, revitalizing the mining industry is a good way to develop industries that will keep Filipinos from leaving for overseas jobs, said Presidential Envoy for Mining Delia Albert in the same press conference.
Dolino said there are 23 mineral exploration and development projects that are expected to bring in US$6.5 billion in foreign direct investments, $3.4 billion in annual sales and some 200,000 jobs.
As for Atlas, Albert said the rehabilitation of the mine, which has remained idle since its closure in 1994, would cost $160 million.
Albert assured that while the mining industry can help bring the economy back on track, environmental and social concerns of stakeholders will not be sacrificed.
She said the Mining Act of 1995 contains provisions that safeguard the environment and affected communities.
There’s a need to make people understand the industry, particularly with mining’s “past sins” and the government’s lack of capability to enforce the law, she added.
In arguing that there is no such thing as sustainable mining, environmental groups would recall the Marcopper disaster in Marinduque in 1996 and, in Cebu, the acid mine drain leak caused by the idle Atlas mine in 1999.
Dolino said he is aware of doubts about the government’s credibility to enforce environmental laws and mine safety regulations.
He said MGB addressed problems like the lack of manpower and funds through the creation of a multipartite team to monitor each mining operation.
Many of the environfunds through the creation of a multipartite team to monitor each mining operation.
Many of the environmental problems in mining occurred under the old law, which did not have sufficient environmental safeguards, he said.
With the Supreme Court’s decision declaring the constitutionality of the Mining Act of 1995, foreign investors’ interest in Philippine mining industry has been restored.
The decision enabled government to welcome foreign mining companies to operate in the country.
Recently, the government approved plans of an Australian mining firm to open a copper and gold mine in Nueva Vizcaya. (LAP)
(August 26, 2005 issue)
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