Best mining practices discussed in ANMSEC

SIXTEEN of the best mining practices in the country were presented by the different companies during a symposium as part of the 64th Annual National Mine Safety Convention at CAP John Hay.

With theme 'Responsible Mining… In the Hearts and Minds of Filipinos,' the yearly gathering of different

mining firms and stakeholders discussed the promotion of the occupational safety and health, sound environmental management and social responsibility in the minerals industry.

Ed Gleeson, the technical manager from AMC Consultants Chartered Professional and Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy said the modern business of mining is technical and highly specialized in nature.

“Laymen, including regulators, retail investors, and financiers, usually have neither the time nor training to independently understand the complexities of mining operations, and are poorly equipped to properly evaluate their risks and potential benefits. However, the capitalintensive nature of the mining business means that their participation is an absolute prerequisite to success in mining,” Gleeson discussed.

Gleeson said most mining areas have addressed this issue by developing enforceable standards for mining valuation which is the VALMIN Code, prepared by a joint committee of Australasian professional bodies and stakeholders.

“It is primarily designed to fit within an Australian regulatory framework but it has also been adopted as an acceptable, and sometimes mandatory, code of practice in other countries. It is widely regarded as international best practice in mining valuation,” he said.

Gleeson added the code provides a set of fundamental principles, mandatory requirements, and supporting recommendations for the preparation of public reports on any technical assessment or valuation of mineral assets.

In another concept paper, Shamane Manacop of OceanaGold Philippines Inc. operating in Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya talked on the benefit of the compnay's undergorund paste backfill system.

Manacop said backfilling is a vital component of Didipio’s underground mining method involving the sequential excavation and timely backfilling of up to five different large stoping voids each month.

The Didipio Pastefill Plant is the first paste backfill system in the Philippines which produce about 50,000 m3/ month of paste, reducing the amount of waste for disposal and lessens the environmental impact and offers cost benefits for the Didipio mine.

“The Didipio Pastefill Plant is considered world-class as it uses technologically advanced equipment to deliver and monitor the filling production.

Kirsten Louise Sagun in her concept paper entitled ‘Sustainable Management Online Tool for Extractive Industries in Palawan, Philippines’ discussed the challenge of the minerals industry in the province since it was declared by UNESCO as a Biosphere Reserve which is protected by a special law, RA 7611 or the Strategic Environmental Plan .

With the challenges faced by the minerals extraction industry in the province, the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff (PCSDS) adopted an assessment tool developed by a Canadian biosphere reserve, the Sustainable Management Online Tool (SMOT) which is founded on the 10 principles of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) which tackle the four dimensions of sustainable development (SD) – economic, social, environmental and governance.