NUEVA VIZCAYA OFFICIALS CROSS PARTY LINES TO FIGHT ILLEGAL SMALL SCALE MINING

In Photo: Documented by the Nueva Vizcaya State University investigative team, an old-fashioned mining ball mill used to extract gold operates without permit in the upland village of Didipio in Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya.

Nueva Vizcaya officials cross party lines to fight illegal mining

BUSINESS MIRROR
Thursday, 19 November 2009 20:28

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya—The escalating number of casualties in the illegal small-scale mining operations in the province has prompted provincial officials to cross party lines.

Nueva Vizcaya provincial board member Patricio Dumlao Jr. criticized the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and local officials in mineral-rich municipalities where illegal small-scale mining activities run rampant, for their failure to curb what he described as destructive mining ventures.

“If local officials in those areas are not illegal miners themselves or if they are not in cahoots with the operators, then it would be easy for them to hunt and stop all mining operations in their respective jurisdictions. Administrative charges can be filed against these officials for dereliction of duty,” said Dumlao.

For his part, Nueva Vizcaya Vice Gov. Jose Gambito Jr., who used to chair the provincial small-scale mining board, confirmed that no permits were issued to small-scale miners operating in a mining area already under financial technical assistance agreement (FTAA).

Gambito was referring to the Dinkidi Hill area in the upland town of Kasibu, where OceanaGold Philippines Inc. was granted the rights by the national government to operate the Didipio gold-copper project under an FTAA.

The MGB said the FTAA may be entered into between a contractor and the national government for the large-scale exploration, development and utilization of gold, copper, nickel, chromite, lead and zinc. The approval of its applications is subject to qualifications and requirements set by the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 and other existing mineral policies of the Philippines.

Dumlao expressed fears that undocumented small-scale mining operations wherever in the province may not only endanger the miners’ lives, but also the entire community where they operate unregulated.

“Because they don’t have permits to operate, therefore they are illegal and have no records for the government to monitor their activities while technically evading tax obligations. How can we entice foreign investments into the country if we cannot protect legal mining projects that pay substantial tax revenues to the government?” asked Dumlao.

Dumlao, who belongs to Nueva Vizcaya’s north district, said the dreadful way of using the toxic mercury in extracting gold, which remains in practice, endangers not only the lives of people living in the area, but the natural ecology as well.

He also mentioned the indiscriminate use of dynamite in mine-tunnel excavation as fatal to the miners based on reported blasting-related deaths recently.

During a recent provincial peace- and-order council meeting, Nueva Vizcaya Gov. Luisa Lloren Curesma ordered the local authorities to stop all illegal mining anywhere in the province.

“These must be stopped. We can’t just sit here waiting for another death or tragedy to happen. Besides, most of these people are not Novo Vizcayanos, and yet they exploit and ruin our natural resources,” said Cuaresma, who heads the provincial small-scale mining regulatory board.

An investigative team from the Nueva Vizcaya State University (NVSU) that conducted water testing from tributaries of the Didipio river network declared the presence of mercury in the upland river system.

The NVSU report was further confirmed by the National Science Research Institute at the University of the Philippines. The water samples at one liter each from the Camgat and Didipio rivers positively yielded mercury at an average concentration of 0.0002 milligram per liter, above the tolerable 0.0001 milligram per liter.

“As a result, the water from the Camgat and Didipio rivers is not safe for human consumption. The color of the water is murky brown probably due to suspended materials. Dissolved oxygen is too low which prevents plankton and algae [which serve as fishes’ food] from reproducing,” explained NVSU vice president for administration Elmer Castañeto, head of the research team.

“Inland fishing used to be an easy source of income, but today, there are no more clean waters to fish from. Mercury is highly toxic even in small amount,” he said.

Blood samples taken from Didipio residents examined at St. Luke’s Medical Center were proven to be mercury positive.

“With the result of our survey positively yielding the dreadful mercury, this is scary enough for everybody to be aware about the dangers it may impose to one’s life,” warned NVSU president Dr. Marilou Gilo Abon.

Search Engine Optimization and SEO Tools