Mining exec blasts anti-mining drive in Palawan

SURIGAO CITY ,Philippines  – Misleading, erroneous and misinformed.

Nickel Asia Corp. chief executive officer and president Gerard Brimo thus lamented the public campaign against mining by Save Palawan Movement, saying the mining industry did not only contribute to socio-economic development in the island province but also brought huge amount of taxes to the government.

Brimo made the statement before more than 600 participants in the First Caraga Mining Symposium held at a local hotel in this city on Saturday.

Mining industry leaders, concerned government agencies, non-government organizations and church and academe officials attended the event.

Brimo took exception to some photos in the slide presentations of Save Palawan Movement, claiming they were not updated and give wrong information.

“Presentations made by the Save Pala­wan Movement made it appear that the whole mining industry were destructive which is actually not true at all and therefore not fair to the mining industry,” he said.

Brimo however clarified that he is not against any personality or NGO, even as he admitted that they also failed to educate the public about the benefits of mining and how it sustained the needs of the modern world.

“We in the mining industry will admit maybe were bad communicators but please be careful too by not giving misleading information about mining as it damaged not only Rio Tuba in Palawan but the whole mining sector as well,” he said.

Deputy Director for the Mines and Geo-sciences Bureau (MGB) Geologist Elmer Bandayrel Billedo for his part said, it is high time for a government agency like MGB to bond together with mining companies and pro-mining advocates to inform the public about responsible mining.

“We too at the bureau, maybe we’re bad communicators but rest assured we will bring the good message across our people that mining indeed is not destructive but constructive,” Billedo said.

Billedo said the impression of bad mining was brought by past incidents, but with the passage of the Mining Act of 1995, when all mining companies in the country are mandated to be responsible or face possible closure, the image of bad mining is being erased.