Chamber of Mines welcomes closure of 5 Zambales mines

The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines welcomed the move of Zambales Gov. Amor Deloso to shut down five suspected illegal mining operations in the province which have not provided any benefits to the government.

According to Nelia C. Halcon, executive vice president of the Chamber of Mines, “illegal mining activities have to some extent undermined the activities of responsible miners in that they do not care about their environmental impact, much less their responsibilities to the communities and the government.”

Halcon added that “we have been striving and doing our best to tell our countrymen that responsible mining can be undertaken, but these illegal activities have been putting the industry in bad light. We commend Gov. Veloso for his resolve in welcoming only good investors in his province.”

Deloso ordered recently the closure of the alleged illegal operations of at least five mining firms in Zambales.

Among those ordered closed were the mining operations of Taiwanese firm Arcman International, A3 Una, San Juanico, Maxwell and KNG.

A taskforce created by Deloso reported that the illegal mining operations had been operating in the province for years without providing any benefit for the province.

Deloso wants mining firms operating in the province to provide socio-economic benefits and compensation package to affected local communities.