Science and technology reporters were given a good view of what happens underground and on the surface of mining sites and how the mining and minerals sector contributes to the country’s economy. Making them “miners for a day”, the Philippine Council for Industry and Energy Research and Development (PCIERD) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) conducted an awareness and appreciation seminar for the media with surface and underground visits and tour at one of the biggest mining companies in the country and in one mining site which has been converted into an eco-mine park.

The mining and minerals sector is one of the sectoral areas of PCIERD and in the National Science and Technology Plan, the industry is considered as one that can give a boost to the economy if it is fully developed and exploration activities are responsibly conducted.

It is for this reason that the PCIERD conducted the appreciation seminar. There are S&T-related plans and programs to revitalize the industry which include all the players from the government sector, academe and the private sector. However, mixed reactions from concerned sectors continue to affect some of the proposed programs for the sector.

Both the Central and Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) Offices of the Mines and Geo-Sciences Bureau (MGB) presented the plans and programs for the sector. Technical presentations were also made by the Philex Mining Corporation, which is at present the biggest mining corporation in the country, and the Benguet Corporation, which has converted its main mining site into an eco-friendly mine park.

The first surface and underground tour was conducted at the Philex Mining Corp.. Philex, a Filipino-owned corporation, started production operations in 1958 with an initial reserve of 18 million metric tons and production at 800 tons per day. The mine products are copper, gold and silver using underground block caving as mining method. By the end of 2007, the total foreign currency earnings of Philex reached P2.7 billion.

Engr. Edgar Prangan, Mines Division Manager of Philex, said that in 1994, the Philex started its mechanized underground mining. He shepherded the group, geared with complete mining paraphernalia and aboard 4 Isuzu cars, the only ones capable of maneuvering along the 32-kilometer tunnel roads down to 740 meters, to give a lecture on how they conduct their mining operations. He demonstrated how they use dynamites responsibly and the safety measures in place. Going lower the tunnels, he cautioned the group about the sudden appearance of huge LHD (Load, Haul, Dump) trucks, all of 19 units worth P35M each. These trucks haul the rocks crushed from a jumbo drill and deliver into the 7-kilometer conveyor system which is the only one in the country. He concluded by saying that Philex, as the number 1 mining company in the country, takes pride in using state-of-the art mining and milling technologies which may not be found in other mining companies.

Back on the surface, Engr. Prangan said that the Philex community is so called a "city within a city" because it is home to 14,000 people of various ethnic and cultural backgrounds enjoying basic amenities such as housing, education, health care, electricity, transportation, recreational facilities, telecommunication, places of worship, among others. A self-sustaining community, it contributes to the national government's income, with paid taxes of P9.8 billion from 1956 to 2006. For the municipality of Tuba, 51% of its tax collection in the amount of P29 million from 2002-2006 came from Philex Mines and the 49% from the other 12 barangays.

Also in her presentation, Engr. Dempta Baluda, Philex Vice-President for Exploration, emphasized that Philex is pro-active in the field of environmental management. Philex, she said, is self-regulating towards the environment. As early as 1960’s, they have started their Community-Based Reforestation, in 1967, their first tailings pond was constructed even before the Pollution Control Law in 1976, and in 1998, their Materials Recovery Facility was installed way before RA 9003 on Ecological Solid Waste Management was enacted in 2001. These have earned for PHILEX ISO 14001 Certification on Environmental Management System.

The Benguet Corporation (BC), located in Balatok, Benguet, is the first and biggest gold mining company in the Philippines. It started to mine gold in 1906, followed by chromite in 1934, and copper in 1980. During the peak of its operations, the BC produced 10,500 oz. of gold monthly or P400 Million at current value. Like the Philex, BC has paid an annual average of P370 million in taxes and duties to the national government and P226 million for environmental protection, safety and community services like roads, schools, hospitals, housing, electricity, among others. However, in the 1990s, the BC had to stop explorations due to the 1990 Baguio earthquake and 1991 Mt. Pinatubo eruption which caused the flooding of the BC mining area. Until now, the area is still under water. To make use of what has been left behind, Engr. Delio Pasion, Manager of the Underground Tours of BC said that the area has been rehabilitated to become a mining eco-park which has been opened to the public. However, being the 16th largest gold mining company in the world during its heyday, the BC wants to regain its place in the mining world by undergoing a paradigm shift from large-scale mining to small-scale. Mr. Danilo Galang, former Vice President of BC and now a consultant, said that the BC is implementing a new approach which is contract mining that involves a corporation (BC), government LGU (Balatok) and community with small-scale miners. This is the first of its kind in the Philippines. With the conduct of the Acupan Contract Mining Project, there are about 900 small-scale underground miners involved through a cooperative. They provide mining services and ore-sharing with the BC. On the other hand, the BC provides mining planning, development, geology, safety and pollution measures. The Mines and Geo-Sciences Bureau and Energy Management Bureau are regulating the project. This contract mining project legitimized small-scale mining livelihood at the same time established productive business relations between the mining associations and the BC. Further, the project generates downstream economic activities and has improved peace and order in the area.

 
The PCIERD likewise gave a chance for the LGUs to present their assessment and relationship with the mining sector. The Tuba LGU is the community surrounding the Philex mining area. Tuba Councillor Blas Dalus said that the mining sector contributes to the objectives of sustainable growth and environmental protection of many rural areas. The Philex, for one, has continually promoted protection for the environment. He also stressed that the local governments should play a proactive role during pre-mining, actual mining and post-mining operations to protect the interests of the community, at the same time, provide or allow a stable atmosphere for mining investment and development. However, the delivery of basic services in the affected communities will only improve if remittance of share from the national wealth tax is fast tracked.

 
To complete the scenario, the Mines and Geo-Sciences Bureau (MGB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) presented the status of the mining sector and the plans of action to revitalize the mining sector. Engr. Glenn Noble, Chief of Mineral Economics, Information & Publications Division, MGB – Central said that the DENR promotes downstream processing and manufacturing for copper, nickel, gold and chromite. These are the metallic and non-metallic minerals which richly abound in the country and there are 9 million hectares or 30% of total Philippine land area with a high potential in these mineral resources. Approximately only 2% are currently covered by mining contracts/permits. With these potentials for development, the DENR plans to develop community-based supplier industries or services and improve government benefits from the mining and export of unprocessed minerals. In 2007, total exports of minerals and mineral products amounted to US$2.55 billion from a gross production value of P97.4 billion or an estimated US$2.1 billion. These contributed to the country’s GDP (gross domestic product) of P81.5 billion or 1.2%. As of 2006, a total of P6.39 billion was collected by the government in taxes, fees and royalties from mining. With the continued implementation of the Mineral Action Plan, all these figures are expected to increase in the years to come. However, there are other actions that need to be seriously implemented to achieve the expected outputs.

Engr. Noble exacted on the improvement of regulations to expand the allocation for community development implementation and provide funds for Information, Education and Communication campaigns. There is also a need to maintain linkages with various stakeholders (e.g., LGU Leagues, civil society) and more importantly, rationalize the implementation of small scale mining laws, rules and regulations, all these leading to responsible mining. Revenue management among the LGUs has always been a critical issue and the DENR supports the initiative on transparency on this area. Also part of the plan is to provide support to the enactment of the law, the “Domogan Bill” (House Bill No. 1020), on the automatic retention of local government shares in mining taxes, fees and royalties. Authored by Baguio Representative, Congressman Mauricio Domogan, the bill also known as the National Wealth Bill, would amend Section No. 290 of the Local Government Code of 1991 and allow LGUs to collect taxes directly from mining firms, shopping malls, factories and other businesses that operate in their jurisdictions. It seeks to require all establishments, mine firms and business developers engaged in the exploitation and development of the country’s natural resources to remit the 40 percent share of the host local government to the LGU treasury. It covers the operations of commercial establishments such as banks and shopping malls.

 
As the agency taking charge of the S&T-related activities of mining and minerals sector, the PCIERD also presented the on-going activities for the sector. The PCIERD Deputy Executive Director, Engr. Raul C. Sabularse said that the priorities are: 1) Exploration Models and Discovery of Ore Bodies and/or Deposits; 2) Techniques for Mining Operations to Ensure Safety and Optimum Recovery; 3) Beneficiation Technologies to Upgrade Low Grade Ores, Recovery of Primary and Secondary Minerals; 4) Technologies for the Utilization of Local Raw Materials and Production of Value-added Mineral Products. Both the Philex and Benguet Corp. have expressed their interest to collaborate with the DOST particularly on development of new mining technologies for mineral recovery from tailings, mine acid mitigation, tailings disposal and mine rehabilitation, abandoned mine land technologies, drilling and blasting optimization, underground monitoring, and untapped offshore mineral resources.

DOST Undersecretary Graciano P. Yumul, who is a geologist, was also at hand during the surface and underground mining visits. He said that in reality, the mining activities are destructive because of the use of dynamites, drilling the earth, etc. However, if done responsibly and guided by mining laws, procedures with the proper equipment, technologies, etc., the mining sector is one of the industries that could really contribute to the nation's economy and to its industrialization.