Eramen wins environmental awards

MANILA, Philippines — Eramen Minerals, Inc. was honored this year after getting the prestigious Presidential Mineral Industry Environmental Award (PMIEA) in the Surface Mining Category and as 1st runner-up in the Best Mining Forest in the Metallic Category at the 68th Annual National Mine Safety and Environment Conference, held at the CAP John Hay Trade and Cultural Center in Baguio City, last Nov. 18, 2022.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) recognized Eramen for its exceptional commitment, initiative, and innovation in environmental protection, safety and health management, and social development.

In 2021, Eramen launched the Mine Environment Modernization (MEMO) Program to enhance its environmental protection and natural resource management. One of the projects under the MEMO program was the development of a new one-hectare forest nursery with a capacity to grow 500,000 seedlings.

The new nursery is also the location of Eramen’s Forestry Research Laboratory, aimed to boost the cultivation of high-quality seedlings, particularly the Mindoro Pine, using in-vitro germination. The program also included silvicultural training and a waste-to-nutrient project that captures biological macro-elements, such as nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus, and beneficial micro-elements to produce cytokinin enhancers for seedlings.  Eramen has planted over 510,000 trees covering more than 657 hectares, including mined-out sites, buffer zones, NGP, and DENR-Eramen bamboo plantation program areas.

In addition to the forest nursery, Eramen also developed an organic agroforestry farm to grow a variety of fruits, vegetables, and other crops not only to augment food sources and sustainability of the mine, but also to aid in reducing the impact of climate change.

Eramen maintains a program to manage air quality through road watering activities by installing Road water sprinklers spanning nine kilometers. It addresses siltation issues through a combination of mega silt ponds and a company-developed filtration module in all discharge points to filter sediment and fine silts.

Eramen has invested nearly P50 million in its mine environmental management for the fiscal year 2021-2022 alone.