This is an article repost.
In recent days, the spotlight has again been on the efforts of mining companies to mitigate the environmental impact of their activities, and to meet head-on the opposition to mining projects.
Speaking at the fully packed August 5 Philippine Mining Luncheon, Gerard Brimo of Nickel Asia presented his rebuttal to the Save Palawan Movement by outlining the laws and rules, as well as the facts and figures, that have been glossed over by the movement in its media blitz. He emphasized his own company’s role in rehabilitating 238 hectares of mined land and challenged the industry to engage in responsible mining and maintain only the highest standards in their operations.
At the August 10 monthly membership meeting of the Australian-New Zealand Chamber of Commerce, Sagittarius Mines Inc. (SMI) presented an overview of the Tampakan Copper-Gold Project, including a summary of its recently completed Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for its mine, a document it describes as a demonstration of SMI’s “commitment to ensuring a thorough, integrated, multi-disciplinary approach to understanding the potential environmental and social impacts of the mine.”
In addition to the EIS, SMI has also prepared an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) to show that the project’s potential impacts can be managed in accordance with the relevant international standards.
The EIS and ESIA are documents generated as part of the Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC) required under Section 70 of the Mining Act which provides that, except during the exploration period of a mineral agreement or a financial- or technical- assistance agreement, or an exploration permit, an ECC shall be required, based on an environmental impact assessment (EIA) under the Philippine EIA System, including Sections 26 and 27 of the Local Government Code of 1991, which require national government agencies to maintain ecological balance, and prior consultation with the local government units, nongovernmental and people’s organizations and other concerned sectors of the community, provided, that a completed ecological profile of the proposed mining area shall also constitute part of the EIA. People’s organizations and nongovernmental organizations shall be allowed and encouraged to participate in ensuring that contractors/permittees shall observe all the requirements of environmental protection. In this connection, SMI is now conducting consultations with groups of its many stakeholders (as many as 58 groups, we are told), to solicit their comments on the EIS before it is submitted to the government by the fourth quarter of the year.
Specifically, the EIS is a comprehensive study of the significant impacts of a project on the environment. It includes an Environmental Management Plan/Program that the proponent will fund and implement to protect the environment.
With a project investment of $5.9 billion, or three times the size of the Philippines mining industry, and the expectation of its contribution to the national economy (and directly to the economies of Regions 11 and 12), all eyes are understandably on the Tampakan Copper-Gold Project, particularly on how the following areas are managed: water supply availability; land, forests and biodiversity; and mine closure and rehabilitation, among others.
It is worth noting that the Mining Act, particularly Section 71, requires contractors and permittees to technically and biologically rehabilitate the excavated, mined-out tailings covered and disturbed areas, as may be provided in its implementing rules and regulations. Further, they are required to create a mine- rehabilitation fund based on their approved work program, and deposit it as a trust fund in a government depository bank to be used for the physical and social rehabilitation of areas and communities affected by mining activities and for research on the social, technical and preventive aspects of rehabilitation. The failure to comply with this shall result in the immediate suspension or closure of the mining activities of the contractor/permittee.
The trust funds of contractors/permittees are monitored by Mine Rehabilitation Fund (MRF) Committees, which are created in each region where active mining operations exist.
A responsible contractor/permittee should, therefore, already be planning for mine closure and rehabilitation even before it constructs and operates its mine, and should be able to clearly communicate its plans to its stakeholders at the outset. In the case of SMI, it has disclosed that it has already begun planning for the closure of the mine even at this stage, and that progressive rehabilitation will be undertaken during the mining. Further, the communities will be included in the implementation and management of the rehabilitation efforts.
Among the key areas that would be covered by comprehensive EIA technical studies would be land (land use and classification; geology, geomorphology and geohazards); water (groundwater and surface water resources; aquatic ecology); air (air quality and greenhouse gases; noise; vibration); people (social impacts; economic benefits). It is, therefore, a positive sign that a company is open and forthcoming in its EIA about its mitigation methods as it signals its readiness to manage any adverse impacts.
Anyone reviewing EIA documents would surely want to see that these are aligned with international best practices, particularly in the areas of resettlement, seeking the free and prior informed consent of the indigenous communities and community development, social development and management, environmental protection and enhancement, and final mine rehabilitation and decommissioning.
While the government’s approval and grant of an ECC is the project proponent’s objective in the EIA process, it cannot be denied that the social acceptability of the project or buy-in of the community is an even more important goal. The affected communities and the public-at-large must understand and accept that the project can bring about a better future for all stakeholders, and that at the project’s end, they would be proud to have approved and been associated with it.
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Patricia A. O. Bunye is a senior partner at Villaraza Cruz Marcelo & Angangco (www.cvclaw.com). She heads CVCLAW’s Mining and Natural Resources and Power & Energy practice groups, and also focuses on IP Commercialization. She may be reached at [email protected].
Disclaimer:
This article has been prepared for informational purposes only and should not be treated as legal advice.
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By: Patricia A. O. Bunye – On Firm Ground
Source: Business Mirror, Aug. 10, 2011
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