MGB dismisses raps vs mining company in South Cotabato

KORONADAL CITY —The Central Mindanao office of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) dismissed claims by anti-mining advocates that the mining company Saguittarius Mines Inc. (SMI) was responsible for the "ground slumps and cracks" in a copper and gold-rich barangay in Tampakan, South Cotabato.

Anti-mining groups blamed the ground fissures in Barangay Tablu to SMI’s continued drilling to determine the viability of copper and gold deposits in the area, and warned of landslides in the event of heavy rainfall.

The SMI is 60-percent owned by Filipino entrepreneurs and 40 percent by Australia’s Indophil Resources.

Its project site straddles Tampakan, Columbio in Sultan Kudarat, and Kiblawan in Davao del Sur.

Jose Madrona, MGB regional director, told The STAR that the ground fissures and cracks in Barangay Tablu are "not connected" to SMI’s exploration based on a study conducted by the agency’s geologists.   

"These ground cracks are the results of natural geological processes. They were already present even before the current owners of the land settled in the area," he said.

Madrona said any human activity such as farming, construction or drilling could not have caused the ground fissures.

"It is not true that the ongoing exploration and drilling of SMI would aggravate the fissures and cracks," he said. 

Meanwhile, the tribal leaders of the five barangays hosting the SMI project urged the anti-mining groups to stop spreading baseless allegations against the company.

They lauded the SMI for its sincerity in attending to the educational, health and livelihood needs of B’laan natives.