EDITORIAL – Cleaning up

Remember the mining disaster in Marinduque? That was over nine years ago, and the people of the island province want to make sure no one forgets.

Yesterday the provincial government sued Canadian transnational mining giant Placer Dome Inc. before a Nevada court. The government is seeking $100 million for the rehabilitation of Marinduque sites damaged in a mining disaster in March 1996, when the drainage tunnel of a containment pit for mine tailings collapsed, spilling millions of tons of copper mine waste into a river all the way to the provincial capital Boac.

It was the worst industrial disaster in the country and it led to the shutdown of the mine by Placer Dome and its local partner Marcopper Mining Corp. of the Philippines. The corporate partners maintain that they contained the damage, compensated those affected, dredged the river as well as constructed roads, clinics and shelters in Marinduque. Placer Dome divested its holdings in the copper mining company and left the country in 1997, ending 33 years of operations in the Philippines and leaving the massive task of cleaning up to local subsidiaries.

People of Marinduque are dissatisfied with the cleanup and are concerned about the health costs of an environment that remains heavily polluted. Now they have taken their case to Nevada, where Placer Dome has mining operations. Whatever the outcome of this litigation, it should remind mining companies about corporate responsibility especially in dealing with the environment.

Mining is a messy business, but rapid advances in technology have allowed mining companies to use more environment-friendly systems. Environmental advocates have pointed out that while new technologies are more expensive, they are cost-effective in the long run because they promote efficiency and productivity.

For mining sites where environmental damage has been done, someone will have to clean up the mess. Marinduque continues to suffer not just from the 1996 mining disaster but also from many years of operations that have left the island smothered with mine waste. Locals have no choice but to undertake the cleanup, but they will need a lot of help. That help will have to come from those responsible for environmental degradation around the mine site.