Marcopper Mining operations halted after waste leak<\/p>\n
MANILA (AFP): The Philippine government has halted the
\noperations of a mining firm, whose waste ore leaked into a river,
\nincluding its operations in other areas, it was announced here
\nyesterday.<\/p>\n
Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Victor Ramos also
\nsaid that Marcopper Mining Corp. could face the threat of closure
\nand that its officials have been barred from leaving the country.<\/p>\n
Marcopper vice-president Ted Gabor said that Ramos had
\ninformed the company last week that a cease-and-desist order
\nwould be issued but that they still had not received any formal
\nnotice.<\/p>\n
Tailings, or inferior ore, from a waste containment pit of
\nMarcopper have been leaking into the Boac river in Marindugue
\nprovince south of Manila since March 24. The leakage has
\noccasionally stopped, then re-started.<\/p>\n
The wastes have polluted the 25-kilometer Boac river and
\nraised its banks, isolating five villages and affecting some
\n2,000 people.<\/p>\n
Marcopper resident manager Steven Reid said that an estimated
\nthree million of the 30 million tons of mine waste contained in
\nthe pit have leaked into the river.<\/p>\n
Although mine officials have said that the waste was not
\ntoxic, fish have been dying and some people who drank from the
\nwater had to be treated at hospitals.<\/p>\n
Gabor admitted that the leakage had resumed recently but said
\nthat it had stopped on Monday.<\/p>\n
Ramos was quoted on government television as saying that at
\nleast a decade ago, Marcopper operations at that same mine were
\nhalted because the company was dumping tailings into the bay in
\nMarinduque.<\/p>\n
Marcopper had been allowed to resume operations only after
\nagreeing to follow strict environmental conditions, Ramos said.<\/p>\n
However, after the latest incident, "we have every reason to
\nreally put our foot down and not allow them to do further damage
\nin Marindugue or anywhere else," he said.<\/p>\n
The official Philippine News Agency (PNA) said the hold order
\nwould apply to Marcopper's mining exploration project in the
\ngold-rich area of Diwalwal outside the southern city of Davao.<\/p>\n
The Canadian firm, Placer Copper Holdings. Inc., which owns 40
\npercent of Marcopper, has also been blacklisted from engaging in
\nother mining activities in the country, the PNA reported. The
\nremaining 60 percent is owned by Filipinos.<\/p>\n
The PNA said the 67 other applications by foreign mining
\nfirms, to operate in this country, were also being closely looked
\ninto.<\/p>\n
Foreign firms have shown renewed interest in the moribund
\nPhilippine mining industry in recent months since the government
\nliberalized the industry this year.<\/p>\n
Gabor said Marcopper had stopped operations on its own when
\nthe leakage began and assured that the company was looking for
\nways to resolve the problem. He also assured that "Marcopper will
\nnot run away from its responsibility. Our officials will not run
\naway from the country."<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/marcopper-mining-operations-halted-after-waste-leak-1447893297",
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