More miners face suspension

MANILA, Philippines – Twenty-two mining companies are in possible trouble after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) confirmed that more than half of the country’s 40 metallic mines are recommended for suspension following the end of the month-long audit on the industry.

Environment Undersecretary Leo Jasareno, head of the audit team, said 12 mining firms are on the verge of suspension, on top of the 10 companies that were already stopped.

“All reports have been submitted and 12 companies are recommended for suspension [by the audit team]. The other 18 are under final reviewed already,” Jasareno told reporters.

“The violations include inadequate social development, mining practices and siltation among others. But most common is their environmental violations,” Jasareno said.

He emphasized that of the 22 companies, majority are nickel miners and are located in Mindanao.

Twenty-eight of the 40 metallic mines in the country are nickel miners which use the open pit method, thus more prone to risks, Jasareno said.

The DENR is set to announce the final result of the mining audit on Monday after cancelling it twice due to document finalizations.

Upon the release of the result, Environment Secretary Gina Lopez will forward the report to the regions to implement the decision of whether they are suspended or not.

Jasareno clarified that companies could still appeal the verdict they may receive.

“The ones who will pass the audit will be the new set of mines that have complied with the standards and will be the model (of the mining industry),” he said.

The DENR is yet to quantify the value of the total production of the companies recommended for suspension, but earlier reports said the 10 initially suspended companies share an aggregate 10-12 percent of the country’s overall mineral production.

Last July, Lopez issued her first memorandum order subjecting all operating and suspended mines to an audit to determine their compliance with environmental standards. In particular, the audit was aimed at determining the adequacy and efficiency of environmental protection measures, identify gaps in protection measures and determine appropriate penalties in case of violations.

The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) aimed to raise the bar on responsible mining in the country with a stricter set of criteria in the audit of around 40 metallic mines nationwide.

Since then, 10 mining firms had been suspended including all operations in Zambales – Benguet Corp. Nickel Mines Inc., Zambales Diversified Metals Corp., LNL Archipelago Minerals Inc. and Eramen Minerals Inc. – for breach of environmental standards.

Other firms that were suspended include the country’s only iron-producing mine Ore Asia Mining and Development Corp., Samar-based operations Mt. Sinai Exploration Mining and Development Corp., EMIR Mineral Resources Corp., Berong Nickel Corp., Claver Mineral Development Corp., and Citinickel Mines and Development Corp.