Nickel Asia propagates tree seedlings in support of National Greening Program

MANILA, Philippines — Listed mining firm Nickel Asia Corp. (NAC) and its subsidiaries are propagating their support to the government’s National Greening Program (NGP) by venturing into the production of seedlings for fruit-bearing trees and donating a substantial number of them to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

Remedios Collado-Camo, NAC AVP for industrial safety and OIC of its environment sector, said seedlings production is an important part of the operations of the mining companies under the NAC Group.

“Propagation of seedlings is a complex responsibility of the environment group of the NAC organization because we have a goal to produce enough seedlings to cover the hectares upon hectares of mined-out areas ready for rehabilitation, plus there is our commitment to DENR’s NGP,” Collado-Camo said.

NAC has donated 185,466 seedlings worth about P8.5 million and has planted 234,873 trees within the mining camps this year.

Jomer Tiamson, environment manager for NAC subsidiary Hinatuan Mining Corp based in Surigao del Norte, said the past year has seen an increase of requests for seedlings for fruit-bearing trees which is much more expensive to generate as compared to seedlings for forest trees.

Tiamson explained that it further proves NAC’s commitment to the greening programs because the cost of generating a seedling for a forest tree is estimated to be at P10 each, while a seedling for a fruit tree costs about P30 each.

The Philippine Mining Act of 1995 obliges mining companies to plant 100 trees to replace every tree they cut due to their operations.  This is part of the mining industry’s rehabilitation programs embedded in the Mining Act and the mining companies’ commitment to the greening of communities where they operate.