Philex gets PAB okay to resume operations

MANILA, Philippines - The Pollution Adjudication Board (PAB) has given listed Philex Mining Corp. the go signal to resume regular operations of its copper-gold mine in Benguet province after completing the rehabilitation works on the waterways affected by the massive tailings spill that occurred in 2012.

In a resolution dated June 9, the quasi-judicial body ruling on pollution cases said that with the payment of the fine of P188.6 million imposed for violation of the Clean Water Act, the issuance of a formal lifting order is now in order.

“The undersigned hereby issues a formal lifting order in favor of the respondent. This shall effectively remove this case from the dockets of the Pollution Adjudication Board (PAB) without prejudice to future action(s) that may be commended against respondent as may be warranted by circumstances or by law,” the resolution stated.

Citing the report of the Environment Management Bureau (EMB) in the Cordillera region, Environment undersecretary for policy and PAB presiding officer Demetrio Ignacio said all the effluent and water samples collected from the Agno River and Balog creek are now within the water quality criteria set by the government.

 â€œThe waterways are now cleared of silt. The water quality is also now within the standards set by the government,” he said in a phone interview.

On Aug. 1, 2012, some 20 million tons of water and sediment were discharged from one of the two underground tunnels of the mine’s tailings storage facility (TSF) no. 3, contaminating the Agno River and Balog Creek.

The PAB imposed a penalty of  P188.6 million for violation of the Clean Water Act covering the period of August 2012 to February 2014.

Philex Mining settled the fine on June 5.

The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), however, has not yet approved the regular resumption of operations by the mine.

After the suspension imposed on the mine immediately after the occurrence of the spill, The MGB and PAB allowed Philex to temporarily resume operations for four months on March 8, 2013 to carry out the so-called beaching process for its compromised tailings pond.

After four months, the company asked the MGB for an extension of at least two years to complete the rehabilitation of the pond as well as other tailings management infrastructure that include the P500 million open spillway that replaces the comprised underground drainage system of the pond.

The still ongoing beaching process entails the dumping of more tailings into the pond to fill the conical void in the pond and displace the water accumulated in the tailings storage facility.