TVIRD operations `well managed’, `responsible’, say lawmakers
Somebody once said that smart is when you believe only half of what you hear and that brilliant is when you know which half to believe. For the members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (Provincial Board) of South Cotabato, to be smart and brilliant aren’t enough. They have to see to believe.
And that’s just what they did when they came full force last June 13 at the Canatuan Copper-Gold Project of TVI Resource Development (Phils.), Inc. (TVIRD) to see for themselves the company’s mining operations in this mountainous eastern portion of Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte. The legislators, led by their presiding officer, Vice Governor Eliordo Ogena, sought to get ample information on the open pit mining method, an issue that, according to reports, has been a “bottleneck” in the passage of an Environment Code they are drafting for their province, located in the southern part of the island of Mindanao.
In top photo, members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of South Cotabato see for themselves the open pit mine of TVIRD’s Canatuan Project. Middle photo shows TVIRD Community Relations and Development Office Manager Thess Limpin explaining to Vice Governor Eliordo Ogena (in jacket) how gold and silver tailings are impounded in the Gossan Dam, while in the bottom photo, TVIRD Civil Engineering Services Chief Ed Nercuit (in sunglasses, third from right) describes to Ogena the design plans for the Sulphide Dam currently being constructed to contain copper and zinc tailings.
The SP members received a briefing on mine operations, a presentation of TVIRD’s social and environmental management and protection initiatives, as well as a tour of the mine, provided by the management team of TVIRD Canatuan, headed by Vice President for Philippine Operations Yulo Perez. They saw up-close the Canatuan open pit mine where TVIRD had extracted gold and silver under the first phase of its mining operations in the area from July 2004 to April this year; the same pit where the company will mine copper and zinc under the second phase beginning late 2008. The lawmakers also saw the Gossan Dam (soon to be reclaimed), where TVIRD put its gold-silver mine tailings; the Mill, where the minerals were processed; and the Sulphide Dam, currently still under construction, where copper-zinc waste materials will be impounded.
(Top photo) Yulo Perez, TVIRD VP for Philippine Operations (standing, in white shirt), gives the Southern Mindanao lawmakers an overview of the company’s activities in Canatuan. (Middle photo) Ely Valmores, TVIRD Mill Maintenance manager (in windbreaker), explains details of mineral production. (Bottom photo) South Cotabato Board Member Dardanilo Dar (in blue jacket) stresses a point with TVIRD’s Thess Limpin: “As I see it, TVIRD’s operations are well managed.”
Visibly impressed by what he saw, Ogena commended TVIRD Canatuan’s officials and staff during the exit conference for their conscientious implementation of the provisions of the law, particularly the Mining Act of 1995, throughout its operations. “I can see the fire in the eyes of TVIRD managers and staff members who are all topnotchers in their respective fields,” VG Ogena said during his delegation’s exit conference with their hosts. Indeed, TVIRD’s technical and non-technical personnel are mostly top placers in professional licensure board examinations and are graduates from reputable schools in the Philippines. Its community development personnel, meanwhile, are principled human rights advocates.
“Thank you very much. I learned so much from this visit,” he added. “I have so many observations. Surely when we convene and decide regarding the Environmental Code for our province, our visit here will be reflected.”
Board Member Romar Olivares had this to share: “Upon close observation, generally the mining operation of TVIRD shows precautionary or mitigating measures. This results into a well-organized, highly technical system.”
(Top photo) TVIRD Mill Operations Manager Rey Carubio (in white hard hat) explains mine operations matters to the visiting solons on the company school bus. (Bottom photo) South Cotabato Provincial Environmental Management Officer (in red polo shirt) is given a tour of the mine pit by TVIRD mining engineers Deyn Sandiko (in blue jacket) and Ayra Guillermo (in red jacket) as a Board member looks on: “The company is implementing responsible mining operations.”
Ramon Ponce de Leon, South Cotabato’s Provincial Environmental Management Officer who accompanied the legislators, also commented on the company’s environmental protection initiatives: “The disposal of tailings coming from the milling operations is well planned, with controls for any future damage or leaks in the dam (Gossan). This just shows that the company is implementing responsible mining operations.”
The most vocal Board member, Dardanilo Dar, summed up the lawmakers’ impressions based on actual experience: “As of now and as I see it, TVIRD’s mining operation is well-managed.”
As the exit conference drew to a close, another legislator was overheard as saying, “Let TVIRD be one of our measures when a mining company comes to our place to mine.”
The other Board members who visited Canatuan were Jose Madanguit, Clemente Tubo, Patricio dela Cruz, Samuel Ladot, and Jose Falcon. They were joined by Lourdes Jumilla, senior environmental management specialist; Ramona Gumban, community development assistant; and by administrative assistants Ruel Tuble, Antonieta Torres, and Daisy Alvarez.
Under the Philippine Mining Act of 1995, mining companies are required to follow stringent socio-economic development and environmental management norms that are at par with global standards. What the South Cotabato lawmakers saw in Canatuan is solid proof that the law is serving the nation and its people well, and that sustainable development through responsible mining can be achieved.
The South Cotabato Provincial Board poses with TVIRD officials and staff for posterity.
