Thursday, December 04, 2008 Open pit mining in Rapu-Rapu fails to impress legislators By Bong S. Sarmiento
KORONADAL CITY -- The proposed provincial environment code in South Cotabato may be passed with the controversial provision banning open pit mining retained, provincial legislative leaders have hinted.
Drawing lessons from a recent study tour at a mining project in Rapu Rapu in Albay, Vice Governor Eliordo U. Ogena and Board member Jose M. Madanguit, chair of the committee on environment, observed that open pit mining does not alleviate poverty in affected communities.
Operating an open pit mining project in Rapu-Rapu is Lafayette Philippines Inc., which was found liable by the government in November 2005 of contaminating the sea waters with cyanide and was fined P10 million.
Apart from this, two mine spills, a landslide and several fish kills reportedly happened during the operation of Lafayette from June 2005 to October 2007.
"Life is great for the miners but not for the people of Rapu-Rapu and the environment," Madanguit said in a privilege speech on Wednesday.
He noted that people there remain poor; their houses made of light materials and the "only semblance of progress that I saw was the houses of the two villages chiefs" straddled by the mines development site.
In contrast, Madanguit described the amenities at Lafayette like a "three-star hotel" with its hot and cold shower, free meals and a videoke machine for its employees to enjoy.
Ogena, for his part, said Rapu-Rapu remains a depressed area despite the mining project of Lafayette.
Aside from mining, the livelihood of residents there is mainly fishing because the land is not suitable for farming, he said, adding that its mountains are bereft of forest trees.
"South Cotabato is very lucky. The mining site in Tampakan covers rich forests, watershed areas and the land is fertile," Ogena said.
Sagittarius Mines Inc., backed by Swiss miner Xstrata Copper and Australian firm Indophil Resources NL, is eyeing for open pit mining in extracting world-class copper and gold deposits in Tampakan town and the neighboring Columbio in Sultan Kudarat and Kiblawan, Davao del Sur.
The Tampakan project, which is still in the exploration stage, is staunchly opposed by various sectors led by the local Catholic Church on environment and health concerns.
They have long been lobbying the provincial legislature to enact an environment code that will ban open pit mining method in South Cotabato.
Although Sagittarius is yet to announce its final mining method in case it goes into the production stage, company officials have repeatedly said they will be following "responsible and sustainable" mining procedures.
Despite their apparent negative perception on the effects of open pit mining project in Rapu-Rapu, Ogena and Madanguit clarified they don't still have final decisions on the matter even after the study tour composed of 11 delegates from the provincial legislative department.
Both officials appealed to the constituents to be patient in the passage of the environment code, saying the pros and cons of open pit mining in the province will still have to be studied carefully.
Several months ago, provincial board members also visited mining projects in Mindanao but critics insisted these sites do not reflect the "evils of mining."
