Philex submits plan for Padcal mine cleanup, rehabilitation

THE country’s biggest miner, Philex Mining Corp., on Friday said that it has completed the filing of the rehabilitation and clean- up plan for its tailings storage facility at the Padcal mine in Benguet province, which they claimed leaked from massive amount of sediments to nearby river systems following unprecedented rainfall in August.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Philex said that the rehabilitation and clean- up plan, which was submitted to the Mines and Geosciences Bureau ( MGB), contains the proposed rehabilitation and remediation plan for Tailings Pond No. 3 ( TP3) that would pave way for the resumption of the mining operations at the Padcal mine.

Philex also said that the proposed rehabilitation plan will include clean- up efforts to the affected environment and communities, including the restoration of activities to address environmental effects caused by the leak.

Earlier, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources ( DENR) denied the appeal by Philex over the P1.034- billion penalty the MGB slapped on the mining firm. Philex claimed that the spill incident was caused by force majeur. The DENR is the mother agency of the MGB. Environment Secretary Ramon Paje said that they may consider revaluation, or even a third- party opinion on the possible amount Philex has to pay for the damage the spill has caused to the surrounding environment.

“They have to pay the fine,” he said, noting that Philex has 45 days to pay the penalty, or face suspension of its environmental compliance certificate.

The DENR chief, however, said that the company can still appeal the decision, or seek alternative solutions— including the payment of the fine in tranches.

Lawyer Michael Toledo, Philex spokesman, said that the company intends to file its appeal to the ruling within 15 days.

” We will exercise out right . . . We have always been consistent with our statement and we will contest everything [ in the ruling],” he said.

The Philex official also assured the public that the company is allotting sufficient funds for the clean- up efforts.

Not a fortuitous event

In a letter sent to Philex President Eulalio Austin Jr., MGB Director Leo Jasareno said that upon evaluation of the firm’s comments to the letter first informing them of the fine, it was determined that “the incident was not a fortuitous event.”

“In the case at hand, the typhoons and the southwest monsoon that brought unprecedented and unexpected amount of rainfall in the area are indeed Acts of God. However, these are typical weather characteristics and expected in this country, being situated in a tropical country and in the typhoon belt. The advent of climate change must also be considered,” said Jasareno in the letter.

“The two typhoons that affected the area and the southwest monsoon warnings announced by Pagasa [ Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration] . . . Thus prudence dictates that caution and safety in the care and maintenance of its facilities and structures should have been exercised, especially that a mining operation is involved,” he added.

Jasareno was referring to typhoons Gener and Ferdie and the southwest monsoon that dumped torrential rains in various parts of the country in July and August this year.

Based on the recommendations of the MGB, DENR imposed in September a penalty of P1.034 billion for the tailings leak in Padcal in August.

The penalty was imposed on the grounds it is a violation of the Mining Act of 1995.

” The computed total volume of the discharged tailings from Tailings Pond No. 3 is 13,513,507 cubic meters, which is equivalent to 20,689,179.42 tons in weight using a calculated bulk density of 1.531 tons solid per cubic meter of the same materials,” DENR said.

The term “bulk density” is a variable used to determine the total weight of discharged solids from a tailings or mine waste facility.

Philex, on the other hand, contested DENR’s computation using 1.531 tons solid per cubic meter as the value representing bulk density, saying the value should be 1.3 tons solid per cubic meter.

Under the Mining Act of 1995, a penalty of P50 per metric ton of tailings “discharged into areas other than the approved tailings disposal area” is imposed.

DENR also said that Philex should monitor Padcal more frequently.

” It was noted that the monitoring of its penstocks and drainage tunnels is undertaken only once a year,” DENR said.