Young bloggers visit, like what they saw in Canatuan
But ten young bloggers from various cities in Mindanao, Southern Philippines, were in for a big surprise when they recently visited Canatuan mountain community and personally witnessed the copper-zinc operations of TVI Resource Development (Phils.), Inc. (TVIRD) in Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte.
“Upon reaching the mine site, we were welcomed by the beautiful mountainscapes of Canatuan,” said 20-year old Cedrick Zabala, a Zamboanga City-based blogger and graduate of Ateneo de Zamboanga University. “This is my first time to reach Siocon and, honestly, I was expecting that I will see deforested mountains and dirty muddy roads as what are usually shown in television. It is really surprising that the surroundings are as green as they could be.” (Read Cedrick’s blog here:)
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Above, bloggers from Iligan, Zamboanga and Isabela try on their personal protective equipment (PPE) prior to their Canatuan mine tour. Below, Ernesto Dedel , TVIRD Canatuan Metallurgy Department Manager (second from left, in blue), explain the copper processing cycle and the various uses of this metal in our daily lives. “The tour is very educational,” said Arlene Collado, a blogger from Iligan City.
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The bloggers were invited to Canatuan as part of TVIRD’s participation as a presenter in the 4th Mindanao Bloggers Summit. The annual event has been promoting Mindanao development since 2007. This year’s Summit was a good opportunity to share the good news about responsible mining in mineral-rich Mindanao and the industry’s contributions to national economic growth and to the uplift of lives of people in mining communities. As with TVIRD’s experience in the past, mine tours such as this have opened the minds of people to what present-day mining is, erasing all doubts about its potential to advance sustainable development.
Another blogger, Rham Joseph Cabasag of Isabela City, shared his thoughts about the visit: “Our tour of the mine was such an eye-opening experience for me, one that I will never forget. The first time I heard about ‘Responsible Mining,’ I immediately took it as some spin work. But upon setting foot on Canatuan, I knew my earlier impression was wrong. The vast woodland area surrounding the place is just too impressive for one not to notice. For a city dweller like me, Canatuan is just unusual and so is TVI(RD)’s mining practices. Responsible mining is definitely present in the place.”
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The visiting bloggers were able to visit the Food Always In the Homes (FAITH) and Sustainable Agricultural Livelihood Technology (SALT) nurseries of the Subanon community in Sitio Solonsangan. Ced Zabala is at center, with glasses. Arlene Collado is third from right, while Rham Cabasag is second from right. “All over the world, companies are trying to implement corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs. Here in Canatuan, TVIRD has already done its part and is continuing to do more than its share in developing the community,” Cabasag says.
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The mine tour, organized for the Mindanao bloggers, started off with an orientation and briefing on mine safety and security as well as on the social and community development initiatives and environmental protection programs of TVIRD. The visiting bloggers were also able to visit the Subanon community and vegetable nursery-cum-model farm in Sitio Solonsangan. They were also able to set foot on the open pit mine and see for themselves the interesting colors of various mineral deposits in the area. However, due to heavy rains, the group was not able to visit the reforestation area and the mine tailings being impounded in the Sulphide dam. The tour ended with a visit to the Concentrate Warehouse where the final product is stored before being hauled to the Sta. Maria Port and eventually shipped overseas. Here, the complete cycle of copper processing was explained to the group by a metallurgist.
“The tour is very educational,” said Arlene Collado, a blogger from Iligan City, who tagged along her teenage daughter, Dimple, to the mine site. “I saw with my very own eyes how TVIRD has given the indigenous people of the area the opportunity to build a better living community. It is very clear that TVIRD is indeed not just about making good business; they have shown that even in the highlands life can be better,” she added.
During the exit conference, the bloggers expressed their appreciation for the opportunity to visit Canatuan and for opening their minds to the possibility of achieving sustainable development through responsible mining. “All over the world, companies are trying to implement corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs. Here in Canatuan, TVIRD has already done its part and is continuing to do more than its share in developing the community. It’s not only about business; you mention education, health, community service, livelihood programs, sanitation, and TVIRD definitely has a story to share,” said Cabasag.
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Above, bloggers listen to briefings on mine safety, security, social development and environment at the TVIRD Canatuan mess hall. Below, Jane Manaog, TVIRD Canatuan Information Officer (center) welcomes the guests. Also present were Public Affairs Manager Lullie Micabalo and representatives of the Safety, Security, and Environment departments, as well as of the Community Relations and Development Office.
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For his part, TVIRD’s Canatuan General Manager Ely Valmores had this to say: “We take pride in proclaiming that environmental protection and social development are critical and integral elements of our company’s operations. We are a transparent company and we are happy to welcome people to come and visit us to take a closer look at how we are developing the place. We know that our mining activities do affect nature but we see to it that environmental programs are in place to rehabilitate the areas that we have disturbed.”
After the mine tour, the group went back to Zamboanga City for the Bloggers Summit and Cedrick Zabala posted this on his personal blog: “We had a lot of discussions about the company’s relationship with the community. They were expecting us to ask how the minerals are processed but I think as a blogger what I really care about is the community and humanity. It is the good of the people and environment that really matters. What I really liked about this company is its transparency. It is the people’s land that they are using so they really should be responsible and transparent with whatever they do with it. TVIRD is very open to everyone who would like to visit their site and to everyone who would like to ask questions about them. I just hope that many people are open to hear their side of the story. We all have misconceptions about mining and we often generalize. Let’s be open to responsible mining.”
Mindanao Bloggers is an online community of young professionals that “blog” (or web log) about Mindanao and life in the Philippines’ second largest island group. This community has banded together since 2007 to achieve one goal: to project to the online world what the real Mindanao is, and not what the mainstream commercial media is feeding the world. The group has been so far successful in putting online the good side of, and the good news about, Mindanao as evidenced by the presence of Mindanao blog sites and affiliated travel sites in the internet.
Now, these mostly young bloggers are now telling Mindanao (and the world) that responsible mining is possible because that is what they saw in Canatuan. (Ernie Rojo)
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The bloggers pose for posterity in front of the TVIRD Canatuan Sulphide Plant in Canatuan. At far left is the author, TVIRD Public Affairs Officer and Dipolog City Office Coordinator Ernie Rojo.
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