SMI, Philex get environmental awards
MALACAÑANG has given Sagittarius Mines Inc. (SMI), the government contractor for the $ 5.9- billion Tampakan copper-gold project in the provinces of South Cotabato and Davao del Sur, its fifth Presidential Mineral Industry Environmental Award.
The award was presented by Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Director Leo Jasareno during the culmination of the 59th National Mine Safety and Environment Conference held in Baguio City last week.
SMI was given the same award in 2006, 2009, 2010 and 2011.
The award was instituted by Malacañang, through Executive Order (EO) No. 399 signed by then president Fidel Ramos in 1997, to recognize a mining company’s initiatives “in the protection of the environment and ecology.”
EO 399 also provides that the award is given to mining companies that have shown “exemplary efforts . . . in achieving environmentally and socially responsible operations”.
In giving out this presidential award, Malacañang forms a multiagency assessment team that looks into a mining company’s performance in terms of “sustainable development practices, including health and safety, environmental manage- ment, community development and stakeholder management”.
The multi- agency assessment team gave SMI a rating of 97 percent under the exploration category. SMI’s reforestation program was also adjudged a runner up in the 2012 Best Mining Forestry Program.
The mining company was cited for its community-based reforestation program participated in by 3,000 volunteers and supported by local government units in South Cotabato and Davao del Sur. This community-based reforestation program has distributed and planted 7,000 seedlings all over the two provinces since 2005.
Award for Philex
Meanwhile, Philex Mining Corp.’s Padcal Project was adjudged overall winner for “Best Mining Forest” in the Metallic Category at the recent Mine Safety and Environment Conference awards night, the 10th time it won the award; while the company’s Silangan Project clinched the PMIEA Platinum Award and was also First Runner-Up in “Best Mining Forest [Exploration Category].”
Covering the municipalities of Itogon and Tuba in Benguet, the Padcal Project also won the Best Mining Forest award in 2011, 2008, 2007, 2004, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1994 and 1991, while it’s the first time for Silangan Project in Surigao del Norte province to win the PMIEA, or Philippine Mining Industry Excellence in Exploration Award and the fourth time for Best Mining Forest.
The Silangan Project was the Grand Slam winner of the “Best Mining Forest” award from 2002 to 2004.
Michael Toledo, senior vice president for Corporate Affairs at Philex, said that the awards reflect the company’s priority in taking care of the environment while utilizing natural resources for economic development.
Organized and granted by the Philippine Mine Safety and Environment Association, the Mine Safety Awards for this year were given at the conclusion of the 59th Annual National Mine Safety and Environment Conference held at Camp John Hay in Baguio City on Friday.
Having a strict environmental policy, Philex Mining has carried out a number of reforestation projects including the planting of seven million trees in 2,000 hectares of land at the Padcal mine. The company has likewise started its reforestation and other environmental programs at the Silangan Project, despite the fact that production will start only from 2017.