Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 28) – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has lifted the nationwide ban on the open-pit method of mining.
DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu signed the Department Administrative Order (DAO) No. 2021-40 last December 23, allowing open-pit mining for copper, gold, silver, and complex ores in the country.
“Open-pit mining method is a globally-accepted method of mining, considered to be the most feasible option for mining near-surface or shallow ore deposits,” the department said in its rationale in restoring the controversial mining method.
The DENR also explained in their recent issuance that major mining issues, including the use of open-pit mining, “cannot be attributed to the use of the method itself but on accidents involving wastes and tailings confinement.”
The department mentioned that allowing the practice of open-pit mining in the country will help reinvigorate the mining industry and provide employment opportunities in rural areas amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The order mandated mining tenement holders to conduct baseline information gathering and evaluation, which will be used by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) in approving a proposed open-pit mining project.
According to the issuance, the MGB will make sure that a proposed open-pit mining project must not pose any possible health and safety hazard to the community.
Release of chemicals from mining is deemed hazardous to the environment.
The project proponent must also carry its “social responsibility” to the community by talking to all involved stakeholders and present applicable programs in mitigating the effects of potential slope failures from the pit surface.
The new DENR directive nullified its own DAO No. 2017-10, which halted open-pit mining in the country as it causes adverse effects to the environment. The said department order was signed in 2017 by Cimatu’s predecessor, the late Gina Lopez who was a known anti-mining advocate.
Alyansa Tigil Mina, an alliance of communities affected by mining in the country, described the signing of the new DENR department order as a “cruel Christmas gift” and an “ironic act of cowardice and betrayal” from Cimatu and President Rodrigo Duterte.
“At this time when climate change brings devastating typhoons such as Odette, lifting the ban on open-pit mining is a short-sighted and misplaced development priority of the government. Once again, the Duterte regime puts more premium to its flawed economic agenda categorizing destructive mining as “essential industry” and part of the pandemic recovery,” the group said in a statement.
According to the latest MGB data, mining generated a gross production value of around ₱121.2 billion for the first three quarters of 2021. Of the said figure, over ₱120.5 billion come from large-scale metallic mining.
Open-pit mining has caused some serious accidents in recent years, most notable of which is the Marcopper mining disaster in Marinduque in 1996 where the discharge of toxic mine waste from a fracture in the pit’s drainage tunnel led to the contamination of Boac River and flash floods that displaced over 4,000 people.
To this day, the municipalities of Boac and Mogpog are still reeling from the environmental damages caused by the mining disaster.
