MGB: Mines in Central Visayas earn millions from wastes

CEBU, Philippines - It’s a classic case of making money out of “trash.”

The Mines and Geosciences Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources yesterday reported that aside from helping the environment by reducing wastes, mining companies in Central Visayas have earned extra millions by recycling their wastes and tailing materials generated from their operations.

The MGB said that from January to June 2009, mining companies in Region 7 have generated an estimated P132.6 million of the nearly 2.7 million cubic meters of mine waste.

“The continuing development of appropriate mining practices and technologies has resulted to the reduction of mine wastes generated by the operating mines and quarries here,” said MGB-7 Director Loreto Alburo.

“Mine waste and tailings data revealed that most of the operating mines and quarries have either sold the mine wastes as filling materials or recycled them for surface backfilling and road maintenance and development,” Alburo added.

Carmen Copper Corporation in Toledo City had the most volume of waste generated within the said period, reaching 2.6 million cubic meters, but the company reportedly used the same for access road development.

Alburo said mining operations generate big volumes of tailings and wastes that require containment in large dams.

“Proper tailings and wastes management, therefore, requires the combination of laws, rules and regulations and the use of appropriate engineering technologies and comprehensive industry guidelines,” he explained.

“We have to understand the economic components and environmental pressures that is why we need to institute viable strategies for improved production efficiency,” he said.

Alburo said an integrated approach to the effective management of tailings dams as an engineered structure shall include defined responsibilities, knowledge of environmental conditions, close supervision of dam construction, careful operational surveillance and post-mining monitoring, among others.

“The industry attempts to reduce or eliminate waste through re-engineering of the production process itself as proper planning results in better resource extraction, it eliminates wastage and reduces the waste being generated,” Alburo added.

Based on inventory and bi-annual assessment conducted by MGB on mines in Region 7, a sizeable amount of mine wastes generated were recycled as backfilling materials for road construction and development by donating them to the barangays or municipalities.

Alburo assured that MGB is strengthening its enforcement and implementation of mining laws to ensure that responsible mining prevails all the time. – Jessica Ann R. Pareja/JMO (THE FREEMAN)