The Alyansa Tigil Mina Blog

Inquirer -
http://news.inq7.net/opinion/index.php?index=1&story_id=76781

WE HAVE read with interest the editorial implying that the government faces a dilemma over the Lafayette mining issue. (Inquirer, 5/23/06) This, despitethe fact that Malacañang has stated it is standing firm on its policy to promote mining and attract foreign investors, and that the answer to the public’s concerns about mining is not a ban but the strict imposition of
environmental standards and safeguards already in place, as well as the no-nonsense enforcement of laws.

Sagip Isla, Sagip Kapwa Inc., Ateneo de Naga University’s Institute for Environmental Conservation and Research, has been critical of the mining industry from the start and has been opposed to mining on Rapu-Rapu Island even before Lafayette operated there. It is therefore not surprising that their arguments and advocacy make a case against the industry.

Also, please note that the Bastes Commission’s report, which is supposed to be an “independent commission,” followed closely the position of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). By tailor-fitting its findings to the views and opinions of the CBCP, the commission has
sacrificed its objectivity and credibility. (more…)

Michael Vaughan - http://www.miningnews.net/StoryView.asp?StoryID=59135

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

PRELIMINARY results from a scoping study on the potential development in 2007 of the chromite ore at Rusina Mining’s Acoje nickel-PGM project in the Philippines have indicated the project has a net present value of $A62.4 million.

The study has also indicated the project will generate pre-tax revenue of more than $240 million and an estimated total cash flow exceeding $103 million.

Rusina believes there are 6-6.6 million tonnes of “chromite target ore” grading 16-18% chromium oxide remaining at Acoje. The ore comes from the openpit, underground and tailings.

The estimate is not JORC-compliant and was calculated by the previous miners before the operation was halted in 1991. From 1935-1991, Acoje produced more than 3.5Mt of concentrate from 10Mt of ore.

To restart the operation, Rusina believes it will cost $32.2 million over the seven-year life of the project, with operating costs forecast at $105 million over the life of the mine.

Chromite production from Acoje is expected to be 1.25Mt of concentrate and direct shipping lump ore per annum. Rusina believes there is also potential for a PGM and nickel sulphide concentrate to be produced.

MiningNews.net was unable to contact Rusina managing director Robert Gregory, who is currently in London, for further comment.

Rusina used a price of $US150 per tonne for chromite concentrate and $200/t for lump. The company believes prices will remain at this strong level over the medium term.

Shares in Rusina were down 2.5c (11.1%) at 20c in morning trade.

http://www.bulatlat.com/news/6-15/6-15-kalinga.htm
BY LYN V. RAMO, NORDIS
Posted by Bulatlat

In another display of people’s unity, indigenous peasant communities and advocates from the middle sector in Kalinga province banded together to put a stop to all corporate mining activities in the province.

TABUK, Kalinga (330 kms, north of Manila) — Indigenous peasant communities and advocates from the middle sector in Kalinga want to put a stop to all corporate mining operations in Kalinga province. The unity was arrived at during a summit held here during the first week of May. The summit also put to task the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) because of its negligence in the issuance of the free, prior informed consent (FPIC) to two exploration applicants covering the ancestral domains of Kalinga tribes.

As of January 31, this year, two exploration permit applications (ExPa) have been approved. The European Wolfland Resources, Inc. EP 0001-2004 covering 496 hectares in Magnao was approved in July 2004 while that of Makilala Mining Co. Inc. EP 003A-2006 with 1494 hectares in Pasil was approved in January this year. Phelps Dodge, an American corporation, reportedly has equity shares with Makilala Mining. (more…)

http://www.bulatlat.com/news/6-15/6-15-cpdf.htm

The Kalinga provincial section of the Cordillera People’s Democratic Front (CPDF), a regional organization under the umbrella of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), announced that they will heighten their tactical offensives against the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and reiterated their call for fetad, the indigenous people’s declaration of war, to defend their resources from outside encroachment including the present threat of transnational mining companies against their ancestral territory.
BY ARTHUR L. ALLAD-IW
Northern Dispatch Posted by Bulatlat (more…)

http://news.inq7.net/breaking/index.php?index=2&story_id=76951
First posted 07:34am (Mla time) May 25, 2006
By Ronnel Domingo, Christine Gaylican
Inquirer

AN ASSOCIATION of mining companies Wednesday lashed out at the fact-finding commission led by a Roman Catholic bishop that investigated the toxic spills in an Australian company’s mine on Rapu-Rapu Island off Albay province, describing its findings as biased and “overly dramatized” to “discredit mining as an economic activity.”

In a prepared statement issued at a news conference, the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines said the Rapu-Rapu fact-finding commission headed by Bishop Arturo Bastes of Sorsogon had upheld allegations that were based on hearsay and not supported by facts.

The commission had recommended that the government stop the operations of Lafayette Philippines Inc. and review the Mining Act of 1995 in light of the Rapu-Rapu spills last year which it said had caused skin diseases among residents in the area, contaminated the seas with mercury and diminished the fishermen’s catch by up to 80 percent. It also called for a ban on mining on the island. (more…)

http://www.malaya.com.ph/may25/envi4.htm
BY REINIR PADUA

Environmental activists from the Kalikasan-People’s Network for the Environment (PNE) yesterday dumped dead fish, sludge and slurry in front of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to remind the government of its own lapses in dealing with Lafayette Philippines Inc. (LPI)

The Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center-Kasama sa Kalikasan-Friends of the Earth-Philippines (LRC-KsK-FoE) also called the government’s decision not to ban mining operations as “a poor bet to RP’s economic growth,” noting that under the country’s mining law, gains from mining operations will not ensure real contributions to the country’s economic growth because it does not have clear provisions on how the Philippine government will benefit from its contracts with foreign mining operators.

After the Rapu-Rapu Fact-Finding Commission (RRFFC) recommended the review of the Mining Act of 1995 and a moratorium on mining operations on Rapu-Rapu Island, Malacañang came out with a statement that a ban on mining would not be an answer to the problem.
LRC-KsK-FoE claimed that the interest for profit that President Arroyo now protects will benefit not the Filipino people but foreign mining companies “who have caused irreparable damage to the country’s environment and the massive displacement of indigenous peoples, farmers and fisher folk.” (more…)

http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2006/may/25/yehey/business/20060525bus5.html
By Angelo S. Samonte, Reporter
THE Chamber of Mines of the Philippines has stated that the country has better mining laws than Canada, the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom, if only the Philippine government would strictly carry them out.

Philip Romualdez, Chamber of Mines president, said the government must strengthen the Mines and Geosciences Bureau and other agencies if it wants the laws to be followed strictly.
The Chamber of Mines stated its position after several law firms conducted comparative studies of the Philippines mining law vis-à-vis the mining laws of the US, Canada, the UK and Australia.
In one study the Sycip Law office discovered “the US does not have as many safeguards on environmental protection and the rights of indigenous people as Philippine law.”

However, it said that the US may have possible enacted more stringent regulations to govern mining.

Another study showed that Australia ‘s Mineral Resources Development Act (MRDA) of 1990 is comparable in every respect with the Philippine Mining Act. “Like the MRDA, the Mining Act provides for compensation to surface owners and occupiers, rehabilitation of the environment and rehabilitation conditions must be lodged,” it said. (more…)