Illegal mining worries Surigao Sur town execs

BAROBO, Surigao del Sur — Fearing a repeat of the tunnel explosion that killed at least six miners at Mt. Diwalwal in Compostela Valley, officials of this town have expressed apprehension about illegal mining in three gold-rush areas in a village here.

Barobo Mayor Arturo Ronquillo and municipal environment and natural resources officer Samuel Pascual said hundreds of small-scale miners have swarmed all over the three sites in Barangay Tambis since early this year.

Earlier, villagers living by the riverbanks in Sitio Garden expressed concern about a possible cyanide spill in the Barobo and Hinatuan rivers after a number of children suffered skin disorders.

Pascual said the miners have no environment compliance certificates nor municipal permits, thus they find it difficult to monitor their activities, including the use of cyanide.

"There is another problem cropping up because these small-scale miners are reportedly cutting trees for timber to be used in the tunnels," he said.

Pascual also expressed alarm over the possible use of explosives in the gold-rush sites and the proliferation of loose firearms as armed groups protect the illegal miners from criminal elements.

Asked if the Mt. Diwalwal tragedy could happen here, Pascual said there is a "possibility" since the miners in both areas engage in the same thing and that some miners in the Caraga region had come from Compostela Valley.

Provincial administrator Johnny Pimentel, a member of the provincial mining regulatory board, told The STAR that he has heard about the problem and promised to call for a dialogue among officials and barangay leaders of areas where small-scale mining exists.

Meanwhile, residents near gold-rush sites in Agusan del Norte have asked the provincial mining regulatory board to investigate reported cyanide and mercury spillages in Mt. Hilong-Hilong, Palo 12 and Barangay Del Pilar in the towns of Santiago, Tubay and Cabadbaran, respectively.