Didipio Project Will Not Sacrifice Precious Trees

Didipio Project will not sacrifice precious trees

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Letter to the Editor in response to the news article titled “Bishop airs fear of S. Leyte tragedy repeat in Vizcaya if officials okay operation” written by Bingo Cadabona, which appeared in the Manila Bulletin on February 3, 2004.

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February 3, 2004

Mr. Tony Antonio
Editor-Provincial Bulletin Section
Manila Bulletin

Dear Sir:

Please let me give some comments on the news item “Bishop airs fear of S. Leyte tragedy repeat in Vizcaya if officials okay operation” by Bingo Cadabona, which was carried in yesterday’s issue of your esteemed newspaper:

1. It is grossly unfair for Bishop Ramon Villena to suggest that thousands of trees would be cut and precious hills would be cut once mining operation is allowed in Nueva Vizcaya, particularly the Didipio Project of Climax-Arimco Mining Corporation in Barangay Didipio, Kasibu. The cut and fill mining method of CAMC would have the barest use of timber, as the mine support would rely on the fill materials of mill tailings mixed with cement. Hence, there is no fear for the sacrifice of our precious trees with the implementation of the Didipio Project. It must be noted at this point that a larger part of Didipio (including the 975 hectares Didipio Project area) has been logged over during the logging operations in the ‘70s and ‘80s before the company could even set foot in the area. And this was aggravated by the non-systematic hydraulicking mining method employed by gold panners. It was the company’s settlement in Didipio that injected hope to reforestation with the company’s maintenance of a nursery and implementation of a continuing reforestation program.

2. There is, indeed, an alarming rate of deforestation in the Didipio Valley. But this is due to kaingin farming and not by any mining activity. Pushed by the hard economic times and a growing population, more and more residents of Didipio resort to kaingin for livelihood. A brief trek to Didipio and you will feel sorry at the patches of forestlands that are burned to give way for citrus plantations or cash crop farms. What is even sorrier is that the cut trees are not even sawn into lumber but are just left to rot, as if purposely to become fertilizer to the soil? This is understandable as it would be costly and needing hard labor to haul the lumber, anyway.

This is not unknown to Bishop Villena, as he visited Didipio Valley one time last year, apart, of course, from the report of his personnel who visit the area from time to time. Any moment now, I am sure that Bishop Villena could present a game plan to stop the further forest destruction in Didipio and prevent a possible repeat of the Southern Leyte Tragedy in Nueva Vizcaya. And it would be an ideal set-up if the Diocese of Bayombong could team up with the DENR and the LGU concerned for the purpose.

But the whole point is that the Didipio Project would, actually, be an indirect solution to minimize kaingin farming rather than a cause of forest denudation. With a lot of job opportunities offered by the mining operation, people need no longer burn the forest for livelihood.

3. The Didipio Project is expected to enhance the farming industry in the Didipio Valley contrary to what is being spread that the mine will destroy the agricultural livelihood. With the opening and maintenance of a road network, the agricultural products from the area can readily reach better market and get better selling price. The mine community would even be an immediate market in itself. While the possible damages due to pollution of river systems are valid concerns, these are provided with measures to mitigate, if not totally arrest, the possible effects. These are spelled out in the Environmental Management Plan provided for the Didipio Project.

It is fervently hoped that the media would find time to learn about the details of the Didipio Project and, thereafter, provide some space for a glimpse of the environmental program. It would not mean being bias in favor of the mining company. Rather, it will be in pursuit of fair journalism where all concerns are presented. As one paper aptly puts, it would be “news as it should be, the good, the bad and the ugly”.

Thank you and more power!

Very truly yours,

Benedict Gapongli
Mining Engineer
Mines and Geosciences Bureau-Region 02





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Didipio Project Environmentally Yours: Environment

Pictures courtesy of Ramoncito Gozar

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Environmental Inspection Promotes Environmental Awareness and Best Practices Among Employees and Contractors

Environmental Inspection Promotes Environmental Awareness and Best Practices Among Employees and Contractors, By: Moises Dimalia

Consistent with the policy to conduct its business with positive regard for the management of the environment and well being of its immediate community, OceanaGold’s Didipio Gold-Copper Project is currently implementing Environmental Protection and Enhancement Program. A regular inspection in all work areas is part of the strategies to meet the objective of this program which is to comply and if possible, exceed all environmental standards and regulations.

The Environmental Quality Monitoring Team of the Sustainability Department conducts regular inspections to ensure that all activities of the Company and its contractors work towards protecting the environment. It also helps the Company maintain compliance on regulatory requirements and avoid unnecessary environmental impacts.

Currently, environmental key parameters are included in a checklist which is used during inspections and these include waste water management, solid waste management, toxic and hazardous waste management and other environmental concerns.

Under the water waste management, the Team inspects if there is enough wastewater containment like mud pit/settling ponds and if wastes in the accommodation, camp sites and offices contained or treated before discharge to water bodies.

Solid waste management is included in the checklist. The Team inspects whether wastes are collected and segregated properly and if there are garbage pit for disposal of residual wastes.

Another parameter is the management of waste oil, hydrocarbon spillages, toxic and hazardous substances which are inspected in all maintenance and motor pool areas and drill sites. The Team ensures that there are labeled containers for waste oil; oil and fuel containers are in good condition and not leaking and have secondary containment system like bund walls; accidental release or spill of fuel, oil and other hazardous materials are collected and managed; and equipment and other machines are in good condition with no excessive oil leaks. There are also hazardous substances which are controlled and restricted by the environmental regulations that should be used properly.

If solid and liquid wastes are poorly managed, they can bring potential environmental amenity and visual impacts into the community. Similarly, hazardous substances if poorly managed can contaminate both the soil and water components of the environment and pose health risks to people.

The Environmental Department implements soil erosion control measures including minimizing disturbance of natural ecosystems by conducting inspections at construction sites and at main and access roads and other mine facilities. Erosion control measures like diversion of water runoff away from disturbed areas, silt fencing including planting of various species is also undertaken to control erosion from disturbed areas.

All these environmental parameters are monitored and checked regularly to comply with the Company’s commitment to environment protection.

Meanwhile, the environment manager or superintendent initially conducts environmental orientation on key environmental issues to all employees and contractors. In addition, service contractors are required to submit an Environmental Management Plan on how they proceed and conduct their activities without harming the environment.

There are instances where some employees and contractors forget or overlook what has been discussed during orientation or what has been stated in their Environmental Management Plans. Regular inspections are important to ensure that employees and contractors are aware of the possible impact of their activities on the environment. This will enable them to implement the necessary actions to control or mitigate their environmental impacts.

A part of the follow up to an environmental inspection is the preparation of a corrective action report (CAR) which is issued to the concerned department or contractor. Upon discovery of an environmental nonconformance or concern, the following procedures are undertaken to address such non-conformance:

1. The concerned department is issued a CAR to address the non-conformance. In the CAR, the description or details of the non-conformance is clearly stated, approved and signed by the environment head.

2. The concerned department/contractor/process owner also has to state the actions they will take to address any nonconformance including the target completion date.

3. The environmental inspector follows-up the status of the agreed corrective action on the target completion date. When completed, the CAR is closed. It remains open if the agreed corrective action is not completed or no action was taken. In this case, the concerned department/contractor has to state another target completion date to be asked again by the environmental inspector or be issued with another CAR.

4. All inspection and CARs are filed on the registry at the Company’s Environmental Department.

All these activities are undertaken to help promote environmental awareness among employees and contractors and improve practices which have potential impacts to all components of the environment. Thus, these will optimize the Company’s commitment in the protection of the environment, strengthen compliance to regulatory requirements, and improve the Company’s public image by its commitment to protecting the environment.

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

The Company views the disregarding of a CAR as a serious breach of company policy. If a CAR is ignored, the concerned person (be it employee or contractor) is formally warned. Should the warning go unheeded, the failure to comply may result in the person concerned being dismissed by his/her manager.

Didipio Project Environmentally Yours: Oceanagold Joins the World in Celebrating Earth Day 2008

Oceanagold Joins the World in Celebrating Earth Day 2008 - By: Oceanagold's Chester James de Leon

It was in the year 1970 when the former United States senator Gaylord Nelson founded a modern environmental movement, “EARTH DAY”. Since the early stage of Earth Day, the idea was to force the issue of environment protection into the attention of officials by inspiring them to address the problems of rapid environmental degradation. This movement, which is celebrated every 22nd of April, continued up to the present and this time it was observed by approximately 175 countries around the world, including the Philippines. It is being coordinated by the nonprofit Earth Day Network who revealed that the celebration is presently the most celebrated holiday in the world, supported by over half billion individuals annually.

The Earth Day theme for 2008, “A Call for Climate,” focuses on the importance of addressing global warming. It persuades politicians around the world to create laws and regulations that control and stop activities that contribute to global warming, and to encourage projects that uplift the present environmental condition.

Being a mining company that realizes and prioritizes the importance of mitigating the environmental impacts of our operations, we have shown our commitment in preserving and protecting the earth through our mitigating measures and projects. We also make sure that in whatever ways we can, we support all international and national environmental celebrations and movements, which include Earth Day.

OceanaGold’s Sustainability Department which is managed by Lucy Exconde chose transplanting of balled trees as the main activity of the company during the Earth Day 2008 celebration. The activity was chosen to promote forest protection and reforestation since woodlands act as natural “heat sinks” which reduce the effects of global warming to the earth. OceanaGold is aware that every year, the area covered by forest in the Philippines is continuously declining, which is why the Company is committed to preserving and increasing the vegetation within the project vicinity.

The balled trees are salvaged from the proposed accommodation site of OceanaGold before the actual development of the said area, showing one of the company’s environmental ideals – “every tree counts”. Tree balling involves manual or mechanical digging of a tree with its root system and soil, called root ball, still intact.

Species which were balled from the accommodation area include fruit trees (pomelo, mango) and fast growing species (narra, mahogany, and melina). The transplanting activity was participated by majority of our employees and managers headed by General Manager Jake Foronda. Contractors and subcontractors of the company have also shown their support through their involvement in the transplanting activity.

More environmental enhancement programs are undertaken as OceanaGold works together with the whole world in celebrating the environment month.

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