Friday, October 24, 2008

South Cotabato provincial board set to ban open pit mining

GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Philippines – Members of the South Cotabato provincial board will visit early next month the controversial open-pit copper mines in the island of Rapu Rapu in Albay as part of its ongoing study on a proposed ban on open-pit mining in the province under the pending provincial environment code, the Philippine News Agency (PNA) reported Friday.

According to the PNA, Board Member Jose Madanguit, chair of the board's committee on environment, said the planned visit to Rapu Rapu will focus on the evaluation of the possible environmental hazards posed by open-pit mining operations, especially on a large-scale basis.

“We're hoping to get the information that we need that will allow us to see the whole issue on a broader scale and eventually help us decide on whether to proceed with the ban on open-pit mining or not,” he said.

In June, at least eight board members, mostly of the environment committee, toured at least four open-pit mining sites of Toronto Ventures, Inc. (TVI) in Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte and Holcim Philippines, Inc. in Lugait, Misamis Oriental.

Madanguit said their initial site visits focused on the evaluation of mine site rehabilitation and the handling of the indigenous people's affected by the mining activities, especially their relocation and compensation.

“This time, we will look into the destruction wrought by open-pit mining in Rapu Rapu, especially the pollution problems, and how it affected the local residents,” he said.
Madanguit said the management of the Rapu-Rapu Polymetallic Mining Project., which is now controlled by Korean investors, allowed them to visit the site either on the first or second week of November.

He said the company allowed the provincial board to send a 15-man delegation for the site visit.
The Rapu-Rapu project was the first foreign-operated Philippine project to reach the production stage after the Supreme Court upheld the legality of a 1995 mining law, which opened the sector to foreign investment.

In November 2005, LPI was found liable for the recurrence of cyanide spills, mine tailings and fish kills in the island, causing environmental destruction, community displacements, human rights violation, and livelihood loss to the local people.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources' Mines and Geosciences Bureau eventually ordered Lafayette to pay P134 million to ensure that the environment around the mine site is restored and rehabilitated in case the project is abandoned.

However, there has been no confirmation if the company had complied with such order.

Last April, Korean transnational companies LG International and Korean Resources Inc. gained majority control of Lafayette Philippines Inc., previously an Australian-owned company, which operated the Rapu Rapu mines.

The provincial board was supposed to deliberate on the second reading in late April the proposed provincial environment code that includes a provision banning open-pit mining in the province but it decided to defer the matter due to strong opposition from the business sector, local officials and various government agencies.

Environment Secretary Jose Atienza Jr. personally wrote a letter to the provincial board and South Cotabato Gov. Daisy Avance-Fuentes seeking a reconsideration regarding the proposed ban on open-pit mining in the province.

Mining firm Sagittarius Mines, Inc. (SMI), which is based in Tampakan town, had issued hints on utilizing open-pit mining on its proposed large-scale copper and gold mining project in the tri-boundaries of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Davao del Sur provinces.

The operations of SMI, which is backed by global mining player Xstrata Copper, has been opposed by local environmental groups and the Catholic Church. (Allen V. Estabillo)

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