Can mining be done responsibly? Can mining go “green”? More important, can communities benefit from large-scale mining operations?
For mining-affected communities in Aroroy, Masbate province, anything is possible.
Valentin Alonzo, chairman of Barangay Syndicate and president of the Association of Barangay Captains in Aroroy, said that communities can benefit and actually enjoy a greener environment if the company adopts a policy that promotes environment-friendly programs and projects.
In his barangay alone, Alonzo told the BusinessMirror in an interview during a mine visit organized by the proponents of the Masbate Gold Project (MGP), the single major mining investment in the Bicol region, that the benefits of hosting MGP, one of the country’s top gold producers, is enormous, and communities enjoy the benefits of hosting the gold mine with greener coastal ecosystem.
Open-pit mining
A project of Canadian mining company B2Gold, MGP is jointly operated by Filminera Resources Corp., which holds the mining and surface rights, and by the Philippine Gold Processing and Refining Corp. (PGPRC), which owns and operates the MGP’s central processing plant.
The MGP uses the open-pit mining method, abhorred by environmentalists as the most destructive mining method and, of late, was banned by then-Environment Secretary Regina Paz L. Lopez.
The open-pit mining method involves massive tree cutting, blasting of mountains to crush rocks to gather and process ores to produce gold.
Days before Lopez’s appointment was eventually rejected by the powerful Commission on Appointments (CA), her last order was to ban prospective open-pit mining on account of its being a perpetual financial liability for the government once abandoned; for posing a life-time threat to communities; and for taking away the economic potential of the affected area.
Integrated ‘area development’
Filiminera and PGPRC’s mine and processing plant was among the large-scale mining operations visited by the former Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) chief and among the first mining operators to partner with the DENR for the implementation of the Integrated Area Development (IAD) program for Aroroy.
The agreement calls for the formulation and implementation of a six-year Sustainable Integrated Area Development (SIAD) Action Plan by the government, civil society and other stakeholders affected by the mining operation.
Defined as “an approach, a strategy and a guiding philosophy that weaves environmental considerations with social justice and human development,” SIAD is aimed at applying area-based interventions and concepts on natural resources development programs.
Enhancing SDMP
Recognizing that Filminera and PGPRC are bound by law to use the Social Development Management Program (SDMP) funds in the eight barangays that were identified as part of their impact area.
Through a memorandum of agreement (MOA), they are allowed to implement programs that would include all other barangays of Aroroy that are not within the impact area of the mine.
The area development in Aroroy is aligned with all relevant DENR programs, like the National Greening Program, biodiversity program, Biochar Program for Agricultural and other Wastes, Coastal Research and Management, Clean Water and Air Programs and Solid Waste Management Program.
The Aroroy MOA brings together the local government unit (LGU), the DENR and the proponents of the MGP into a partnership to develop and run an IAD Program, where a multi-sectorial group will be consulted to ensure the participation of all stakeholders and other LGUs.
According to Filminera Resident Manager Sulpicio Bernardo, entering into an agreement with the DENR enables MGP to be more aligned with the objectives of the DENR and enhance its SDMP to uplift the lives of community stakeholders in the area where it operates.
Mandated by law
The SDMP is a requirement of the Mining Act of 1995, which obliges mining companies to implement development programs in their host and neighboring communities.
Funding for SDMP is 1.5 percent of the company’s total annual operating cost. From 2000 to 2015, the MGP have allocated close to P260 million for health, cultural and sports, livelihood, trainings and development education and infrastructure projects.
Its livelihood and organization projects have created 1,600 jobs, over 80 percent of which benefitted residents of Masbate.
It also provided supplemental income to 882 recipients comprised of fishermen, farmers, women and senior citizens.
Filiminera and PGPRC have organized 24 associations, which are already registered with the Department of Labor and Employment. The two companies operating the MGP also conducted training programs for aquasilviculture, vegetable production, mangrove development, food processing, massage therapy, beauty care, integrated farming and fish processing.
Environment-friendly
MGP takes pride in claiming to successfully equate responsible mining with taking care of the environment “to achieve the best possible balance between economic development and the protection of the environment”.
The MGP has acquired an ISO 14001 Environmental Management System standard, an internationally recognized environmental standard which also makes the company compliant to a DENR administrative order for mining companies.
The certification is a systematic framework to manage the immediate and long-term environmental impacts of an organization’s products, services and processes.
Filiminera and PGPRC jointly conduct extensive environmental monitoring within their area of operation to ensure minimal impact and avoid permanent damage to the environment.
Working with communities
Barangay Syndicate, one of the impact barangays of MGP, is one of the primary beneficiaries of various SMDP programs and projects.
“All our 2,600 plus residents benefit from what we get from [SDMP],” Alonzo said.
Like residents in other impact barangays, he said his constituents in Barangay Syndicate receive various programs for education, health, infrastructure and livelihood.
“Ever since it started operation, I made it a point to coordinate with the Masbate Gold Project,” he said.
He said the roads built and repaired through the SDMP fund allocated by the MGP were a big help to the communities.
“We have four school buses providing free transportation to students,” he said. Residents of Barangay Syndicate, he said, also enjoyed health services.
Progressive rehabilitation
The company implements progressive rehabilitation of forested areas. From 2013 to 2016 the MGP has planted over 1.6 million trees covering a land area of more than 2,280 hectares for its reforestation and rehabilitation programs. It also conducts reforestation activities outside its mining tenement.
The company has also established its own tree nursery in Barangay Puro to ensure steady supply of planting materials for reforestation.
In 2012 the company launched a massive mangrove-reforestation project in coastal barangays of Aroroy and partnered with various fisherfok organizations. MGP, through its partners, has planted 388,000 propagules in eight coastal barangays.
Way of life
Mining is a way of life in Aroroy. In fact, Aroroy used to be called Al-Oroy, which came from the Spanish word oro or gold.
People in the Aroroy basically grew up with mining as the province is endowed with rich mineral deposits waiting to be tapped.
Masbate and Camarines Norte in the Bicol region host around 30,000 kamote (sweet potato) miners, who are called such for their painstaking work of panning for small nuggets of gold, a very dangerous but lucrative trade, or are small-scale miners.
Compared to farming or fishing, people in the barangay are used to risking their lives encroaching in areas assigned to large-scale mining companies, digging tunnels and hauling ores which they process themselves for gold. Now, a first-class municipality in Masbate province, Aroroy has played host to the MGP, a $250-million mining venture, the biggest single-mining investment in the province, which began operation in 2007. Its full-scale commercial production came two years later and is currently one of the country’s top gold producers.
From barangay Syndicate, around 10 percent of the households are employed either by Filminera or the PGPRC.
Risky business
Unlike in farming or fishing, a kamote miner can earn as much as P700 up to P1,000 easily.
Some small-scale miners prefer gold panning than working for large-scale mining companies, where they have to work for eight hours a day and wait for the pay day every two weeks, said Leonardo C. Rosal, who used to be a kamote miner himself.
“Some still believe it is better because it means easy cash,” he said in Filipino.
He said small-scale mining could be very dangerous, noting that some miners have died from collapsing tunnels.
Partnership with communities
Rosal, the current president of a fisherfolk organization in Aroroy, said he and 52 other members of the group are earning extra income as MGP’s partner-organization in one of its environmental-cum-livelihood projects.
Since 2012 the group’s members are tasked with planting mangroves. Each is paid P20 for every propagule planted and nurtured.
Rosal said fishing communities are now reaping the benefits of engaging in massive mangrove reforestation.
“During high tide, we set up our fish net around an area and harvest fish, crab, shrimps when the water subsides,” he said.
Rosal said it secures them an average of 50 kilos of fish without even going out in open seas.
Some of the mangroves planted by MGP’s partners, he said, have grown, enhancing the protection of coastal communities during typhoon seasons.
More important, he said the mangroves they planted means more fish are able to breed and replenish their fishing grounds, ensuring bountiful harvest.
For community stakeholders in Aroroy like Rosal, responsible mining means caring for the environment and making things better for communities. The proponents of the MGP take pride in partnering with a total of eight fisherfolk organizations who enjoy the benefits of greening the town’s coastal barangays.