The Alyansa Tigil Mina Blog

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/zam/2006/05/30/news/mindanao.business.group.lauds.government.support.to.mining.html

The Mindanao Business Council (MinBC) has lauded government’s renewed support to the mining industry, as the organization remains bullish on the prospects of how a revitalized minerals industry can help uplift the socio-economic conditions of the country, particularly Mindanao.

The affirmation of support was declared by Director General Romulo Neri, socioeconomic planning secretary and director general of the National Economic and Development Authority, who said the growth of the mining industry is vital to economic development.

The MinBC has vigorously pursued the revitalization of the industry for being a potential growth driver both in investments and in job generation. Considering the past performance of the industry and the renewed interest in mining activities, it is expected that mining can generate roughly $5-7 billion in foreign exchange yearly and could provide 240,000 jobs for the next six years, the MinBC said. (more…)

http://news.inq7.net/nation/index.php?index=1&story_id=77038
By Judy Quiros, Dennis Jay Santos
Inquirer

DAVAO CITY — A delicate balancing act it will be.
Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes the other day said he would decide next week the fate of Lafayette Philippines Inc. in accordance with the government’s policies of encouraging foreign investments in the mining sector, improving the people’s livelihood and protecting the environment.

In a 169-page report to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, a fact-finding commission headed by Sorsogon Bishop Arturo Bastes has recommended the closure of the Australian company’s mining operations on Rapu-Rapu Island in Albay province and a review of the 1995 Mining Act.
The Bastes Commission also recommended the cancellation of Lafayette’s environmental compliance certificate, compensation for victims of a waste spillage in October last year and the filing of charges against some environment officials in Albay.

Malacañang has ruled out a repeal of the mining law due to its economic fallout, boosting hopes of foreign miners that the Arroyo administration will stand by them and their investments here in any face-off not only with Bastes but also with the powerful Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). (more…)

http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=131200

TORONTO, ONTARIO — (MARKET WIRE) — 05/24/2006 — Altai Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE: ATI)(US Sec. Rule 12g3-2(b) File # 82-2950) (”Altai” or the “Company”) is pleased to report that Talisman Energy Canada (”Talisman”), which has optioned four oil and gas permits from the Company, has now informed Altai that it will be drilling the test well on Altai’s oil and gas Permit No. 2002PG625 of the Sorel-Trois Rivieres property, Quebec, starting on July 1, 2006 or earlier. The well will aim at reaching the Trenton Formation of Ordovician age at an approximate depth of 800 meters. The estimated time for the completion of the well, testing and evaluation of the information from the drilling have not yet been communicated to Altai at this point of time. At the request of Talisman, Altai has granted a time extension for the test well drilling, from the Farmin Agreement scheduled date of May 15, 2006, due to permitting delay. (more…)

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryID=39763
By RENE MARTEL

With his historic chain of office dangling from his neck, the 678th Lord Mayor of London, Alderman David Brewer, parks his frame in an armchair in his suite at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel and waxes eloquent about the positive developments he has observed on the business front in the Philippines since he last visited almost a decade ago.

With his historic chain of office dangling from his neck, the 678th Lord Mayor of London, Alderman David Brewer, parks his frame in an armchair in his suite at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel and waxes eloquent about the positive developments he has observed on the business front in the Philippines since he last visited almost a decade ago.

“It’s astonishing how things have changed, and how the economy has grown,” enthuses Brewer who previously used to come to the Philippines quite often as a top executive of a British insurance company. (more…)

http://news.inq7.net/nation/index.php?index=1&story_id=76945
By Blanche S. Rivera
Inquirer

THE PHILIPPINES ranks 125th among 146 countries rated by the 2005 Yale Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI), indicating the country’s poor ability to ensure sustainable development of its natural resources.

The Philippines, one of the 17 megadiverse countries in the world which together account for up to 80 percent of Earth’s biodiversity, only ranked higher than countries like Haiti, Pakistan, Iran, Sudan, Iraq and North Korea.

Bukidnon Representative Nereus Acosta cited the 2005 ESI during a forum on climate change and renewable energy yesterday as he urged better coordination among government agencies to ensure sustainability.

“It confirms that we are still largely incapacitated when it comes to protecting our environment, averting hazards, reforesting, etc.,” Acosta said in an interview after his presentation.
The ESI evaluates countries based on 21 indicators, including natural resources, pollution levels, and environmental management efforts that characterize and influence environmental sustainability on a national scale. (more…)

May 24 2006

GNA - Ghana News Association

Accra - Newmont Ghana Gold Limited and Gold Fields Ghana Limited have signed an agreement to usher in a new era of mining responsive to the needs of communities and intended to make mining operations effective.

The MOU was signed on Wednesday by Mr Bill Zisch, Vice-President Africa Operations of Newmont; Mr Allan Ashworth of Gold Fields Ghana and Ms Sharon Kromer of United States Agency for international Development (USAID), which is acting as an independent facilitator.

Tagged Ghana Responsible Mining Alliance, the MOU commits the two companies to ensure local capacity building for governance structures; provide economic opportunities for the indigenous private sector and promote best practice in mining in Ghana including areas of resettlement, compensation, reclamation, closure and security. The other areas of focus are human rights and community development. (more…)

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/ilo/2006/05/26/oped/ted.aldwin.ong.misreadings.html
By Ted Aldwin Ong

IN RESPONSE to the recommendation of the Rapu-Rapu Fact-finding Commission that mining activities be stopped on Rapu-Rapu island, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said, “A ban on mining is not the answer but the standards and safeguards already in place and existing laws must be strictly enforced.”

The statement of Malacañang on the result of the investigation of the fact-finding body acknowledged that existing laws on mining were not properly enforced, thus it resulted to mine tailings and spills in Rapu-Rapu, Albay. It is ironic that the recommendation of the fact-finding body to ban mining in Rapu-Rapu was considered by Malacañang as not the proper response to the tragedy and Bunye reiterated that “mining remains a priority for development” by the Arroyo administration.

Mining might attract the billions of pesos that the Arroyo administration desperately needs to bankroll its plans on her bid to end the economic and political crisis but the Rapu-Rapu tragedy is another concrete example that this administration is robbing the people of their right to live in a clean environment. (more…)

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/man/2006/05/28/bus/exporters.back.palace.decision.to.push.mining.industry.s.revival.html

THE President made the right decision in standing pat on the government’s drive to revive the mining industry.

This was the firm stand made by Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) president Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis, Jr. when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo last week bucked pressure by the Catholic Church and other critics of the mining industry and stood firm in her drive to revive the country’s mining industry.

The export leader said the mining industry, one of the biggest dollar earners of the country after World War II, went downhill in the past 25 years due to depressed metal prices, the rise in environmental awareness and inconsistent policies on the exploitation of the country’s natural resources.

“Our federation has always stood firm for sustainable use and management of our natural wealth and stand with the rest of our people against environment degradation, health hazards and pollution caused by any industry including mining,” Ortiz-Luis said. (more…)

http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=jojoRobles_may24_2006

SOMETHING called the Commission on Ethics and Advocacy, purportedly based in Aquinas University in Legazpi City, e-mailed a 22-point rejoinder to a recent column about the recently submitted report on the mining operations in Rapu-Rapu Island, Albay.

Other than the obvious conclusion that they seem to love the word “commission” over there (as in, the “Bastes Commission”), the e-mail provides no enlightenment whatsoever on the issues of employment and business generation, investor confidence and the general effect on the economy of the decidedly biased, bishop-led body that gave its predictable report last week to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

These were the issues we raised: that the commission (the Malacañang-appointed one, of course) was patently biased against mining in whatever shape, form or method; that perhaps the new management of the mine should be given a chance to test its new measures to prevent any adverse effects on the environment before being summarily condemned; that the economy would suffer from such an adverse verdict because investors would definitely shy away from what they perceive to be yet another attempt to change the rules of the game after the game has started. (more…)

http://news.inq7.net/regions/index.php?index=1&story_id=77448

THE commission that investigated two mine spills in Rapu-Rapu, Albay erred in the way it computed Lafayette Philippines Inc.’s (LPI) production figures to arrive at a conclusion that the firm did not pay proper taxes.

In a statement answering the charges made by the Bastes Commission, LPI said the error emanated from the commission’s failure to understand the mining and milling process.

“If only the commission had asked us to explain, they could have spared us the temporary suspicion of fiscal irresponsibility, and themselves the embarrassment of being unmasked for a report that is biased, flawed, unscientific, and, irresponsible,” LPI said in a statement.

“The simplest way to explain this,” it said, “is that bottom line, we paid the taxes based on production figures the commission said it should be based on. Put another way, we did not evade tax payments because we paid the amount the commission said we should pay.”

The company said ore production was 70,000 metric tons in April-June 2005 to build up inventory for a July milling operation. Production from July to October reached 67,000 MT.