Friday, June 20, 2008 Bureau vows to intensify monitoring of mines in R7
THE Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) 7 vowed to improve monitoring of mining activities in Central Visayas by intensifying mine visits and ensuring transparency of records.
MGB 7 Director Roger de Dios, during a mine tour conducted yesterday at the Carmen Copper Corp. (CCC) in Toledo City, said the bureau is proactive in implementing mining laws.
De Dios said this in anticipation of the re-opening of the Atlas mine that is expected to start ore production next month.
The CCC took over the operation and maintenance of the Atlas mine in Toledo City. The mine is the biggest mining operation in the region.
Even before the start of the rehabilitation program at CCC, de Dios said MGB has already formed a Multipartite Monitoring Team (MMT) for the company, as provided under the Philippine Mining Act.
Team
The MMT is chaired by the MGB. Its members include representatives from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (DENR-Cenro), the barangay chief to represent the local government unit (LGU) and a nongovernment organization (NGO) accredited by the LGU.
“We also welcome anti-mining NGOs,” de Dios said.
John Salcedo, head of the environment division of CCC, also gave a presented the company’s environmental monitoring program, which includes quarterly monitoring activities by the MMT and monthly in-house checks.
Salcedo said there are already nine identified areas being monitored both by the MMT and the CCC’s in-house team.
Aside from the creation of the MMT, de Dios said MGB has also asked CCC to submit an abandonment plan, which details what the company will do once the projected mine life is reached.
Mine life
“In the case of (CCC), the mine life is expected to be at 12 years based on the mine reserves,” he said.
After 12 years and once the company stops operations, CCC is expected to implement the final mine rehabilitation as indicated in the abandonment plan it will submit to MGB.
Josue Bordon, CCC’s assistant vice president for administration and safety and environment management director, said the company is already in the process of gathering data that it needs for the plan.
Rodrigo Cal, CCC vice president and resident manager, said that considering the amount of money put up to operate the mine, it would be “not good” for the company if it will not utilize its property after the mine life has been exhausted.
Cal said it might be possible to put up a housing or an eco-tourism site. De Dios, based on his evaluation, said the most appropriate thing to do is to re-vegetate the area or create some of the mine pits into a sanitary landfill.
The CCC is also required to put up a trust fund to guarantee that the mine rehabilitation program will be implemented at the end of the mine’s operations. The cost of monitoring will be taken from the trust fund since the MMT will continue to operate 10 years after the implementation of the mine’s decommissioning plan. (DME)
