Mining with a heart

MANILA, Philippines - Like most mining companies that suffer from hostile and negative perceptions about their operations due to loud opposition from civil society groups, TVI Resource Development (Phils.) Inc. continues to counter this stigma by doing several benevolent deeds to convince these communities that it “mines with a heart.”

In keeping with the Mining Code, TVI invests one percent of its operation costs or about P80 million a year to improve the communities it operates in, build schools and health centers (fully equipped with medicines, medical staff and surgical equipment), libraries, sanitation facilities, a chapel and several other interventions so that indigenous people living in these communities are able to benefit from such investments.

Also, the company sponsors elementary to tertiary scholars—some of them have finished and voluntarily joined the company—aside from financing their alternative livelihood projects to ensure that real economic growth takes place in these communities.

This publicly-traded copper producer earned a gross revenue of $73.4 million in 2009 and $44.6 million in the first six months of 2010 is now looking at other mine sites nearby to ensure the operations of its Gossan and zinc facilities. These include areas like the Greater Canatuan; the Balabag project and the Tamarok Project, which will be in partnership with existing mine operators.

Comisas-Lacpao completed her nursing degree as a TVIRD scholar and passed the recent government licensure examinations for nurses, making her the first Subanon nurse from Canatuan.

TVI’s Public Affairs Director Rocky Dimaculangan said the company is committed to exploration and mining practices that “promote transparency, responsible stewardship of the environment and the inalienable rights to life, dignity and sustainable development of our host communities.”

And since the state is absent in the hinterland, “we fill the gap in the needs of the communities where we operate in by giving them not just their minimum basic needs (MBNs) but beyond that, for so long as our resources permit,” he told The Star.

The company also adopted the UN Norms for Business and recruited human rights professionals in its social commitments team (SCT). Its planning is guided by the Millennium Development Goals treating its immediate communities as assets, not liabilities.

Its commitment to transparency is manifested in the regular mine tours it conducts; the quad (not tri)-media information campaigns, the strategic alliances in information, education campaigns (IECs) and the global reporting initiative (GRI) Sustainability Report that it submits to its stockholders and shareholders.

Programs for health and sanitation include the construction of a health clinic that provides free 24/7 healthcare and ambulance service to impact communities. The company has also built six schools where currently benefiting 2,500 students with teachers, learning tools and equipment. In addition, the company also provides 48 college scholarships, 10 of whom have graduated and some have opted to work with the company.

It provides microfinance to women’s groups, technical skills, training and apprentice programs to three agri-production nurseries. For the fisherfolk, the company provided 25-crew fishing boat to increase community income, again including a microfinance component using project savings to fund other alternative livelihood.

Its school building project is in partnership with the Department of Education, Maple Tree Foundation, Petron Foundation, US Agency for International Development, Habitat for Humanity and Save the Children Foundation.

Since 2009, the company has deployed 14 medical missions. Aside from its own security force, the company has earned the respect of the locals such that the community is now the one securing the operations and their livelihood against outside intrusions. It also helped in professionalizing the security organization by forming emergency response teams.

To address environmental concerns, the company is building four mine tailings storage facilities, three of which are undergoing reclamation and these are being designed and built according to international standards. The current facility is 70 meter high with potential of expanding by another 20 meters.

Its monitoring of the environmental impact of its operations are being done by third party professionals which are completed on a weekly, quarterly and annual basis, identifying mitigation measures needed. The monitoring is done on flora and fauna, aquatic habitat, air quality, noise, water quality and health of host community residents.