http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=politics04_july20_2006

Sorsogon Bishop emeritus Jesus Varela supports the test run of Lafayette’s Rapu-Rapu polymetallic project, saying it would show if the corrective measures put in place by the company meet the standards for safe and responsible mining operations.

Varela, who toured the project last week, said in a statement that the Church is not against mining itself but is opposed to irresponsible mining. He added he wanted to find out for himself if the objections of antimining groups to LPI’s continued operations are valid or not.

“If the risks of mining in Rapu-Rapu can be avoided or substantially mitigated while the benefits can be palpably felt by its affected communities, then the company under its new Filipino management must be given a chance to conduct responsible mining; otherwise it should be closed down,” Varela said.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources recently allowed the test run so the company can test if its corrective measures run properly before it is allowed to resume mining operations.

The three-stage test run first involved the circulation of water into the system to test for leakages. This stage of testing had been completed and last Tuesday the department issued an order confirming that the project had fully complied with all the requirements of the first stage of testing and can proceed to the second stage which involves the processing of nonore-bearing materials to test the electromechanical systems.

Lafayette said it is confident the project will successfully complete the second stage within the allocated period of nine days and in due course receive authorization to proceed with the third stage which would involve the use of ore-bearing materials and chemical reagents.

On full operations, the project would employ about 900 people on top of the thousands more that would be generated by support businesses it would produced.

The project is also expected to spend about P320 million each year largely for supplies from Albay and Sorsogon, making it the single biggest growth driver in the area.

The new management team under Carlos Dominguez took over the project in mid-January following government sanctions for spills involving process water in October.

Dominguez, LPI chairman and president, had promised the host communities around the mine that the project would be a model of responsible mining.