Text and Photos by Henrylito D. Tacio
“Mineral resources are limited, finite and do not occur everywhere. They are concentrated in only a few blessed provinces.” — Ronald Recidoro, vice president for policy, Chamber of Mines of the Philippines
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You may not know it but an average cellphone contains about 24 milligrams of gold, 250 milligrams of silver, 3,800 milligrams of cobalt, and 9 milligrams of palladium.
That’s just one product that comes from mining or mineral extraction. There are more: computers, television sets, radios, spectacles, cameras, cars, planes and ships. Most of the things you find in your kitchens are included: spoons, forks, plates, cups, knives, kettles, microwave ovens, burners, refrigerators and a lot more.
“If we didn’t have mining, I’d miss all the golden crucifixes and golden domes of churches that we ogle at, and the TV and radio broadcasts and commentaries that can be informative too,” wrote Jose Bayani Baylon in his column which appeared in Pahayagang Malaya.
“Mining has been a driver of economic development,” said Manuel V. Pangilinan in a speech delivered during a mining forum held in 2012. “Mining in Australia contributes US$142 billion each year; in Canada, $37.5 billion; in the US, $1.9 trillion, and in Brazil, $24 billion.”
According to Pangilinan, “The challenge is precisely to grow mining so that it creates more value-added for all of us. Only a larger and healthier industry can enable us to achieve forward linkages in downstream processing plants.”
“The Philippines is among the world’s richly endowed countries in terms of mineral resources,” Dr. Antonio M. Daño, assistant director of the Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (ERDB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), bared in a forum that was held in Kidapawan City recently.
As a matter of fact, the country’s mineral wealth is estimated to be about $840 billion. “The real question before us today is: Should mining be allowed in the Philippines?” asked Christian Monsod during the “Conference on Mining’s Impact on Philippine Economy and Ecology.”
In the Philippines, mining operations are oftentimes located in ancestral land, forest land, agricultural land and even fishing areas. “All areas of the Philippines are technically ‘available’ for mining,” said Dave de Vera, executive director of the Philippines Association for Intercultural Development (PAFID).
Speaking before a group of journalists attending the learning sessions on land use planning some years back, De Vera cited the case of Sibuyan Island, touted to be the Galapagos of Asia and home to Mount Guiting-guiting.
In February 1996, then President Fidel V. Ramos declared Mount Guiting-guiting as a national park. For their part, the indigenous Mangyan Taga-Bukid — the traditional caretakers of the mountain — secured Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title over their territories.
Despite these efforts, some 21 mining companies have applied to mine the area. “The applications cover 42% of the island and overlap with 32% of the management area of the national park,” De Vera deplored.
The Catholic Church, some cause-oriented groups and environmentalists are against mining. All of them have valid reasons. Fr. Emeterio Barcelon, SJ, in his column, wrote a very thought-provoking piece. “A valid objection is that mining operations sometimes leave the local population with little residual benefit after the mining operation,” he wrote.
“This is not true in most cases as, for example, the Baguio mining. If not for the mines, tourism could not have developed Baguio as it is now. But many of the local people are still poor. This not because of mining but because of the sharing system. Why let the mining companies take away all the gravy and leave the community in poverty?”
Primo Morillo of social development network Philippine Miserior Partnership was quoted as saying by the Rappler that whatever benefits mining provides is only temporary. “They say the resources are finite so when they are gone, they will leave. Whatever development will happen is temporary but the effect of mining is permanent.”
Now, let’s talk about mining wastes. According to Dr. Daño, “mining waste materials drains into major water systems causing pollution.” Take the case of the Tapian Open Pit copper mine in central Marinduque.
Raul Alibutud, in an article published by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, reported: “What used to be rich fishing ground is now nearly barren of marine life. Corals and seagrasses, the homes of nesting places of fish, have been choked by sediment. Near the mine’s waste discharge pipes, the once-clear water has become murky and turbid.”
In 2007, the MGB reported there were 24 non-performing mining tenements -abandoned and need immediate rehabilitation. “These areas were left out after several years of mining operations leaving behind toxic waste materials and overburdened areas that are stony, rocky and acidic,” Dr. Daño said. “These areas have open pits and mine tailings.”
Dr. Daño said mining areas are characterized by acidic and saline due to oxidation of pyretic materials. He considered them as “the most difficult site to rehabilitate” because the soil acidity (pH) falls below 4.0.
Generally, mining areas are “untouched for rehabilitation unless bulks of soil are brought back to the site.” In gold mine areas, heavy metals on-site are way above normal levels (i.e. copper, arsenic, chromium, lead, zinc and strontium) carried away by running water to low lying areas.
After mining finishes, the mine area must undergo rehabilitation. Wikipedia cites the following options to be done:
• Waste dumps are contoured to flatten them out, to further stabilize them against erosion.
• If the ore contains sulfides it is usually covered with a layer of clay to prevent access of rain and oxygen from the air, which can oxidize the sulfides to produce sulfuric acid.
• Landfills are covered with topsoil, and vegetation is planted to help consolidate the material.
• Dumps are usually fenced off to prevent livestock denuding them of vegetation.
• The open pit is then surrounded with a fence, to prevent access, and it generally eventually fills up with groundwater.
• Tailings dams are left to evaporate, then covered with waste rock, clay if need be, and soil, which is planted to stabilize it.
For underground mines, rehabilitation is not always a significant problem or cost. This is because of the higher grade of the ore and lower volumes of waste rock and tailings. In some situations, stopes are backfilled with concrete slurry using waste, so that minimal waste is left at surface.
