Monday, January 29, 2007 Firm wants to explore mountain bet. Talisay, Cebu City for copper
A MOUNTAIN area between the cities of Cebu and Talisay is believed to be rich in copper.
Already, Cebu Ore Mining Development Corp. has applied for a mining permit to cover a 1,000-hectare area in the boundary of the two cities.
According to Mines and Geo-Sciences Bureau (MGB) 7 Director Roger de Dios, the firm will begin exploring the site as soon as their Manila office approves its applicatioin.
“I’ve heard Talisay City already called for a public hearing because this is a wide operation, but I don’t know the result,” de Dios told Sun.Star Cebu in a phone interview.
He said the public hearing is required for the application.
In a separate development, de Dios is asking the Oriental Negros Government not to renew the special mining permit it had granted to a group of Bukidnon tribesmen until a laboratory test of samples taken from the abandoned mining site in Basay town is available.
Leftovers
He said they have yet to ascertain the kind of heavy metal present in the leftover materials at the old batching plant of the Construction Development Corp. of the Philippines.
The Provincial Government granted the special permit to the Bukidnon tribesmen last November provided that they confine their activities inside an area in Barangay Cabatuanan, which they consider their ancestral land.
Their permit expired yesterday.
Buyers of their haul reportedly come from Manila and Dumaguete City.
Since the start of their operations, they have transported tons of stones to Cebu City before these are shipped to Manila.
De Dios said 150 adults and children are salvaging what is left of the old batching plant.
He said he will meet with provincial officials on Feb. 2 to discuss measures to disallow rampant issuance of special permit by local government units.
Local tax
He said the practice endangers the lives and health of the people and deprives the government of local tax.
“Local government units are in the losing end of these deals since they won’t be able to collect local tax from the mining firms or groups,” de Dios said in Cebuano.
The tribesmen said they needed to conduct the salvaging operation so they can purchase a rice mill for their people.
But to protect their health, de Dios said it is best to halt their operation until samples taken from the site are tested and results become available. (AIV)
