After months of recurring leakages, the Philex mine spill in Benguet has
become the “biggest mining disaster” in the Philippines in terms of
volume, but the company is seeking a clean-up option instead of paying
the hefty fine of P1 billion, officials said.
Some 20
million metric tons of sediments have flowed into water channels from
the Philex tailings pond in Itogon since its drainage tunnel was
breached last August, according to a report from the Mines and
Geosciences Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (MGB-DENR).
This is ten times more than the
volume of mine tailings that spilled out of the Marcopper mine in 1996
in Marinduque, which dumped some two million metric tons of waste into
the Boac River and is still considered the worst mining disaster in
terms of toxicity. Residents along the 27-kilometer Boac River lost
their fishing livelihood and diseases have afflicted the community after
the incident.
“In terms of volume, ito [Philex mine
tailings spill] ngayon ‘yung biggest mining disaster in the
Philippines,” MGB chief Leo Jasareno told GMA News Online in an
exclusive interview last Friday.
Read the rest of the story at GMANews website.