Rapu-Rapu project still viable, says Lafayette official

Lafayette Mining’s Rapu-Rapu project in Albay remains viable despite hefty fines and rehabilitation costs from two spills that occurred last year that forced it to suspend operations, an official of the mining firm declared yesterday.

Rapu-Rapu Minerals Inc. environmental management chief Carmelita Pacis said the company had spent about P400 million to rehabilitate the open-pit polymetallic mine, on top of paying record fines.

There has been concern in the industry about the viability of the project, operations of which have been suspended for seven months, as regulators barred its reopening pending compliance with a tough set of remedial measures.

The Lafayette incident is seen as a test case of the Arroyo government’s commitment to mining investments, as well as its enforcement of environmental safeguards.

"Of course we still are (viable)," Pacis said on the sidelines of a public forum on the Rapu Rapu case. "Otherwise we would not be here."

Pacis and other company officials and consultants laid out the case for the resumption of Rapu-Rapu mining operations to a generally hostile audience of students, academics and environmental lobby groups who hissed their disapproval at some of the company officials’ statements.

Pacis said the company had essentially completed compliance with 21 conditions imposed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for the reopening of the mine, which suffered a spill at its mill site on Oct. 11 and at its tailings dam on Oct. 31, 2005.

The Rapu-Rapu Fact-Finding Commission (RRFFC), created by President Arroyo to investigate the mining accident, accused Lafayette of mining spills that caused massive fishkill in the Bicol region.

The RRFFC headed by Sorsogon Bishop Arturo Bastes recommended the total closure of the firm and called for a review of the 1995 Mining Act.

President Arroyo has rejected the call to review the mining law, while DENR Secretary Angelo Reyes said he would study the data before ruling on Lafayette’s bid to resume operations.

"We feel that our company has complied with all 21 conditions," Pacis told the forum.

The Chamber of Mines also downplayed the mining incident involving Lafayette by claiming there was just a problem in communication.

"It is literally a ‘drop in the ocean’ (as far as) what occurred. We are talking about a few cubic meters of effluent that flowed out of the system during the height of a typhoon," said Chamber of Mines president Philip Romualdez. He said the issue stemmed from "diluted materials."

"From what we have gathered, (the spill) has created a fishkill of a few kilos," he said.

Romualdez said Lafayette can be held liable only for its failure to inform residents about what really occurred.

"As a result, fear set in. That’s why you had many barangays afraid of having a fishkill that was going to affect everybody around the coastline for miles. And the reality is, that was not the case," Romualdez said.

Romualdez said the issue at hand is not the recommendation of the RRFFC but the strict implementation and enforcement of safe mining practices.

"The reality is there are many mining operations that exist and continue to operate throughout the Philippines. And many of them operate very well," he said.

Romualdez said Lafayette was not able to handle the matter effectively. "They did not manage the problem well," he said.

"With regards to the Lafayette issue, the reality is, from the investigation that we have undertaken, the Chamber of Mines has found that some of the issues and concerns are not as great as has been reported and has been discussed," Romualdez said.

The Chamber of Mines, upon the request of the Philippine government, provided a team of experts to inspect the mine site and was asked to give recommendations to prevent such incidents from recurring.

Romualdez stressed that the country needs to strictly enforce the mining law.

"What we need is to work together to implement it and to ensure that we all act as responsible corporate citizens. We all agreed that there is a problem," he said.

Some sectors also took notice of the report made by the RRFFC in recommending the total closure of Lafayette.

Sorsogon Rep. Jose Solis, the lawmaker leading the congressional investigation into the mining accident at Rapu Rapu, said the RRFFC report lacked factual basis.

Gregorio Tabuena, a member of the RRFFC, himself slammed the fact-finding board by claiming Bastes and the other commissioners had delved into certain issues that were not covered by Administrative Order 145, which created the commission.

Tabuena, a forester with intensive mining experience and environmental protection projects, said the method employed by the RRFFC commissioners in the investigation was often "prosecutorial."

He said the fact-finding body disregarded his suggestion to hire experts in conducting the investigation.

He also claimed the RRFFC conducted its hearings and deliberations short of the required standard. — AFP, Sandy Araneta, Katherine Adraneda