The Alyansa Tigil Mina Blog

http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2006/july/24/yehey/prov/20060724pro2.html
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=45252
By RHAYDZ B. BARCIA

LEGAZPI CITY - Barely three weeks after Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes approved the 30-day test run of the Rapu-Rapu mine in Albay, Lafayette Philippines Inc. officials on Sunday decried the alleged sabotage committed by unidentified persons on the mining site.

The lawyer Julito Sarmiento, Lafayette corporate secretary and spokesman, complained of harassment after they discovered spilled pesticide at a creek near the mine. (more…)

http://www.malaya.com.ph/jul24/busi3.htm

Macro Asia Corp. last Friday announced that it would start preparing next month to mine nickel in Brooke’s Point, Palawan.

Joseph Chua, MacroAsia president and chief executive officer told stockholders the company has secured its first Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) from the government.
“We will do first the high profile exploration. We will find out how much is the value of our property,” he added. (more…)

http://www.mb.com.ph/PROV2006072469973.html

MALOLOS CITY — Bulacan Governor Josefina M. de la Cruz is pressing the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to finally scrap the Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) granted to Rosemoor Mining and Development Corp. (RMDC) and end its marble quarrying operations inside the Biak-na-Bato National Park (BBNP).

RMDC’s concession is located in barangay Kalawakan, Doña Remedios Trinidad, Bulacan.
De la Cruz said in her July 13, 2006 letter to DENR Secretary Angelo Reyes that simply suspending the MPSA of RMDC is not enough since the Supreme Court (SC) has already ruled with finality that the mining firm’s operations are void ab initio and must end immediately.
She is also batting for an end to mining operations in the province. (more…)

http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200607230703.htm
The Philippine Star 07/23/2006

Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI) president Jesus Arranza warned yesterday that any injunction order stopping the 30-day test run of the mining operation of Lafayette Philippines in Rapu-Rapu, Albay could derail the infusion of more foreign mining investments into the country.

Arranza lamented that the government’s target of raising $122 million in mining investments by yearend has been imperiled by the injunction case that had been filed against Lafayette and Environment Secretary Angelo T. Reyes before the Makati Regional Trial Court. (more…)

http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200607239909.htm
By Katherine Adraneda
The Philippine Star 07/23/2006

The provincial government of Marinduque has included another mining company as a defendant in the civil case it filed against Placer Dome Inc. in Nevada, USA last October.

Myke Magalang, executive secretary of the Marinduque Council for Environmental Concerns (MACEC), said the US District Court of Nevada granted last Wednesday the motion of the provincial government to include Barrick Gold Corp. as a defendant in the lawsuit against Placer Dome.

Citing records furnished to the MACEC by the law firm representing the provincial government, Magalang said Barrick Gold Corp. has acquired 81 percent of Placer Dome’s shares and replaced nine of the 12 Placer Dome directors. (more…)

http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200607239910.htm
The Philippine Star 07/23/2006

Unidentified persons poured what appeared to be pesticide into a creek near Lafayette’s Rapu-Rapu project last Wednesday then sent out text messages saying that the project had a spill that has killed marine life.

“This is sabotage to scare people and is no different from the mercury hoax anti-mining and leftist groups carried out early this year,” lawyer Julito Sarmiento, Lafayette spokesman, said in a statement. (more…)

http://news.inq7.net/archive_article/index.php?ver=1&index=1&story_id=11208
July 22, 2006
By Michael Sarcauga
Inquirer

PAGADIAN CITY - An anti-mining group has accused the Canadian mining firm Toronto Ventures Inc. (TVI) of violating human rights when it allegedly sent security men to beat a couple and destroy the farms of Subanen tribesmen opposing the company’s operations in Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte.

A TVI official denied the allegations.

The Alyansa Tigil Mina (Alliance to Stop Mining or ATM), a coalition of people’s organizations and non-government organizations clamoring for an end to large-scale mining, said in a statement that TVI security forces demolished the house of Manolita and Loloy Galvez on June 24. (more…)

http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=politics04_july22_2006

Unidentified people poured what appeared to be pesticide into a creek near Lafayette’s Rapu-Rapu project last Wednesday then sent out text messages saying that the project had a spill that has killed marine life.

“This is sabotage to scare people and is no different from the mercury hoax antimining and leftist groups carried out early this year,” Lafayette spokesman lawyer Julito Sarmiento said yesterday. (more…)