Cagayan town thrives on black sand mining

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya â€“ A Cagayan coastal town has been thriving on black sand mining shunned by local Church authorities and environmentalists, earning three times more revenue than from other locally generated sources combined, an official said yesterday.

Mayor Carlito Pentecostes Jr. of Gonzaga town said their revenue from the extraction of black sand or magnetite mining has made the municipality richer by P300 million in the last three years.

The amount, he said, represents the revenue collected from black sand mining from July 2010, when it started in a number of villages, to October this year.

“We are for responsible mining. We don’t abuse our natural resources. We see to it that there is a balance between sustainable utilization of our resources and economic prosperity,” said Pentecostes, who has received flak from anti-mining groups for supporting black sand mining.

He said all mining activities in his town are legal and sanctioned by concerned government authorities like the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the provincial government. 

All the town’s barangays, including those not covered by mining activities, have benefited from the industry, he said.

“There is no illegal mining activity in the town. We will not allow companies to mine our resources without permits from competent government bodies. We don’t also allow mining in sacred places such as cemeteries,” he said.

“From a sleepy town, Gonzaga is now a first-class province. It is now one of the fastest economically growing municipalities in the province. This is because we are utilizing our natural resources wisely for the benefit of our constituents,” he said.  

A rich resource in the northern Cagayan coast, magnetite or black sand commands a high price in foreign markets, as it is used as an additive for high-strength concrete and steel and for processing magnets, paint, ink, paper, jewelry, and cosmetics.

Besides Gonzaga, other Cagayan towns hosting magnetite mining included Buguey and Aparri.

Church-backed anti-mining groups have called for a halt to black sand mining, saying it poses environmental risks.

Engineer Mario Ancheta, MGB director for Cagayan Valley, said mining firms in the province are operating in conformity with existing mining laws.

“We are very strict in implementing our mining laws. Mining companies cannot operate within the 200-meter distance from the shoreline, which is strictly a no-mining zone area,” Ancheta said.