Mining row continues to simmer at Mt. Diwalwal

DAVAO CITY — Operators continue to fight over ownership of mining tunnels at the gold-rush site in Mt. Diwalwal, Monkayo, Compostela Valley.

JB Management Mining Corp., one of the largest firms operating in Mt. Diwalwal, strongly opposed the latest ruling of the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board (PMRB) prohibiting the company from further exploring an existing tunnel in the area which it has been working on for more than 10 years.

In a press statement, the management of the mining firm likewise questioned the recent ruling of the PMRB allowing other parties to enter and develop the tunnel without due compensation to the company.

The controversial tunnel, known as the "Victory Tunnel," has been the site of several clashes in the past between mining workers of JB Management and that of other firms such as the Helica Mining Corp. and the BLU Corp.

The clashes have already claimed hundreds of lives since mining operations started at Mt. Diwalwal sometime in the early 1980s. — Edith Regalado