AT LEAST one miner died while another was injured inside the Nayak twin tunnel of Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company in Barangay Paco Mankayan, Benguet on January 17.

Lepanto officials, however, have yet to disclose the cause of the accident while the names of the victims were withheld.

"As to saan exact nangyari, saang level, the technical department is still investigating on the matter," said LCMC communications head Butch Mendizabal.

The accident is the first recorded in Lepanto for the past 10 years.

The incident happened days after the Philippine Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative visited the mine firm as part of their stakeholder engagement and capacity building in the Cordilleras.

During community visits and mine tours, the company provides copy of their reports and talk about the role of the PH-EITI. The group not only looks into the mine operations, but also talks to the community affected by the mining industries.

Lepanto is one of the largest mining company in the Cordillera region which uses a semi-mechanized cut-fill mining method with a total regular manpower of 1,789 as of August 2017.