DENR decides fate of 10 mining firms today

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is set to decide today whether to suspend at least 10 mining firms that have undergone auditing on their compliance with government standards.

“I met with the audit teams. I’m very careful about saying anything because it will send a message. Whatever the results of the audit, it will show that these are the standards of mining in our country so I want to do it really well,” DENR Secretary Gina Lopez said in an interview.

The DENR chief will have a full-day meeting with the audit teams today, after which their decision will be announced.

So far, the DENR has suspended operations of 10 mining companies.

The three firms recently suspended were the Bulacan-based Ore Asia Mining Development Corp. as well as Mt. Sinai Exploration Mining and Development Corp. and EMIR Mineral Resources Corp., both in Homonhon, Eastern Samar.

Ore Asia reportedly failed to secure an ISO 14001 certification. ISO is the International Organization for Standardization or an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations.

On the other hand, Mt. Sinai, which mines chromite, and the nickel-producing EMIR Minerals caused siltation of the coastal waters.