THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has issued a set of revised guideline on small-scale mining operation intended to stop illegal mining activities and prevent mining’s adverse impact to the environment.

The new guideline is contained in Department Administrative Order (DAO)  20015-03 providing for the revised implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act 7076, or the People’s Small Scale Mining Act of 1991.

Director Leo Jasareno of the DENR’s Mines and Geosciences Bureau said the order signed by Environment Secretary Ramon JP Paje reflects the Aquino administration’s commitment to protect the environment against destructive mining activities, consistent with Executive Order  79 signed by President Aquino in July 2012.

The order maintains small-scale mining for all nonmetallic minerals such as quarry materials but limits small-scale mining of metallic minerals to gold, silver and chromite.

The order also essentially clips the powers of local chief executives in awarding small-scale mining contracts. Instead of the governor, city or municipal mayor, small-scale mining contracts shall now be issued by provincial and city mining regulatory board.

Jasareno says the order is a breakthrough in small-scale mining regulation.

With the revised regulation on small-scale mining, he said the DENR looks forward to the transformation of small-scale mining operations into a formal and responsible sector of the mining industry, significantly contributing development in the countryside.

The DAO 2015-03 also bans the use of mercury, hydraulic and compressor mining.

It provides for centralized custom mills within a mineral processing zone inside a declared Minahang Bayan; limits the total term of small-scale mining to a maximum period of six years; allows the establishment of Minahang Bayan in areas covered by large-scale mining applications that have been denied but with pending appeals, provided that royalties shall be paid in escrow, while awaiting for the final resolution of the appeals.

The order also limits the qualified applicants of small-scale mining to a cooperative or a group of small-scale miners and requires small-scale mining contractors to pay a government share in the amount to be set by the provincial, city or municipal mining regulatory board on top of the payment of the usual taxes.  Mineral processors will also be required to secure mineral processing licenses from the provincial, city or municipal mining regulatory board.

Small-scale miners and operators lack the financial and technical capacity to extract metallic minerals with minimum or less adverse impact to the environment, implement rehabilitation plan of mined out areas, or remediation measures to clean up mine waste advertently or inadvertently dumped into rivers during their operations.

There are around 200,000 small-scale miners, including small-scale artisanal gold miners, employed by the small-scale mining industry in the country.

Most of these small-scale miners operate illegally or without the necessary permit from the government, particularly in terms of causing environmental problems.

Source: http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/denr-clips-local-executives-powers-in-award-of-small-scale-mining-deals/