The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines lamented the “rash public pronouncements” of the Environment Department on the results of the mining audit.
CoMP vice-president for policy Ronald Recidoro said the pronouncements of the agency were inconsistent with letters sent to certain companies informing them of the audit findings.
“To be clear, none of these companies are suspended. But the pronouncements yesterday gave the impression that the companies named have already been suspended. Reputations have been damaged,” he said.
The chamber also expressed concern over the repercussions of the department’s pronouncements.
“The audit findings have serious impact not only on our present mining projects but also upcoming projects,” Recidoro said.
Recidoro said 75,000 jobs were put at risk because of the DENR action which he said was inconsistent with President Rodrigo Duterte’s thrust for government to honor existing contracts and support responsible mining.
Earlier, the Environment Department said only 11 out of the 41 metallic mines in the country passed the mining audit.
Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno told reporters the mining industry remained a very important part of the economy. “We have to balance the concern of conservation with the need to develop the sector. It should be responsible mining, not just small-time mining,” Diokno said.
Benguet Corp. expressed surprise and took exception to the findings and recommendation of the Environment Department to suspend the company due to non-rehabilitation of the Antamok open pit.
The company said it exerted efforts to initiate projects including converting the open pit into a bulk water project and a waste-to-energy facility.
“Local government units have in fact requested and endorsed the pursuit of the projects, signing memorandum of agreements with BC as early as June 2016. While the company recognizes there was delay in the rehabilitation of the open pit for reasons beyond its control, it has not abandoned it,” the company said.
Benguet operated the Antamok gold mine in 1903 as the first commercial underground gold operation in the Benguet Mineral District in Itogon. In the early 1980s, in view of low gold price, high production cost and declining ore grades, the company developed the open pit mining method to maximize the low grade ore.
The company said when the grades continued to decline, it suspended the Antamok mine in 1997 due to economic reasons presented by declining market prices but it still started the rehabilitation efforts in the area.
Benguet said it immediately started working on the progressive rehabilitation of the mined-out areas. It submitted to MGB and DENR in 1997 a plan to convert the open pit into a water reservoir to supply treated bulk water to Itogon municipality and Baguio City.
The company participated and won the bidding for bulk water project conducted by the Baguio Water District in 2003.
“The local governments supported the initiative from the start. Its feasibility study showed the open pit has capacity to supply 59 million liters a day which can greatly address the water shortage needs of Itogon and Baguio City. The BWP was accepted as rehabilitation for the Antamok Open Pit and BC was ready to implement when BWD cancelled the contract it awarded to BC, forcing the company to file a mandamus case against BWD. Because of the delay, the economic parameters changed and affected the viability of the project as a whole,” the company said.
Benguet Corp. said in early 2015, it revived discussions with the mayors of Itogon and Baguio regarding the bulk water project and agreements with both local government units were signed to start the review of the project.
Benguet Corp. said aside from the open pit, the company was finalizing with MGB-CAR its rehabilitation plans for other areas of Antamok such as engineered sanitary landfill for Camote pit and Minahang Bayan for the Antamok UG.
“These projects will serve the waste management need and solve the small scale mining problem of Itogon. Both projects have already interested partner-contractors, who are conducting due diligence on these projects,” it said.
Benguet Corp. said it was committed to the rehabilitation of Antamok. “It is well aware of its obligations as a responsible mining company. As an ISO: 14001 certified company, it has always been a step ahead in the implementation of rehabilitation projects that will redound to the benefits of the communities where it operates,” it said.