Berong Nickel Corp., a unit of DMCI Mining Inc., said Wednesday it allocated P110 million to decommission and rehabilitate its nickel mine in Quezon, Palawan.
DMCI said in a disclosure to the stock exchange it would spend most of the budget to stabilize the mined-out area in Berong mine through benching, drainage construction and planting of endemic and indigenous trees.
The rehabilitation of the mine will be conducted over a six-year period and will cover 109 hectares of surface mine, 209 hectares of silt control structures and 25 hectares of stockpile area.
The program is expected to generate 135 jobs.
“Our end goal is to restore and enhance the mined land so its economic and ecological value is similar to, if not better than, when we started operations in the area,” said DMCI Mining president Tulsi Das Reyes.
After rehabilitation, the disturbed areas could be used for eco-tourism, agro-forestry and inland fish farming by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, local government units and host communities.
About 14 hectares of mine access road will also be rehabilitated and turned over to the community for their use.
The Berong mine opened in October 2006 and is expected to be fully depleted by year-end.
Aside from generating 1,634 direct and indirect jobs, the mining operations yielded 10.3 million wet metric tons of nickel ore and P2.6 billion-worth of mining duties, royalties and taxes.
Community investments through the BNC Social Development and Management Program reached around P185 million. These investments included infrastructure, livelihood assistance, scholarships, among others.
DMCI Mining posted a net income of P983 million in the first nine months, up 290 percent from P252 million recorded in the same period last year on higher selling prices, shipment and production.
Aside from Berong mine, DMCI Mining also operates a nickel mine in Zambales province.