Kalinga bans mercury in mining operations

BAGUIO CITY , Philippines  – The province of Kalinga has banned the use of mercury in small-scale mining operations.

The provincial government, through its Environment and Natural Resources Office, said the ban is in keeping with its commitment to the national government’s declaration to eliminate mercury in mining where Kalinga province is a signatory, Dominic Sugguiyao of ENRO said.

The declaration is in support of the United Nations Environment Program, which aims to take appropriate actions to identify and reduce mercury releases to the environment.

Kalinga formalized its commitment to ban mercury during the recently held artisanal small-scale gold mining national summit. The province is one of the seven most important provinces in the country involved in artisanal small-scale gold mining (ASGM).

The main agenda at the summit was the wanton use of mercury in ASGM through amalgation, which contributes to high levels of mercury emissions in the atmosphere.

Among those who participated in the summit were officials from the Banao-Bodong Association of the Gaang Mines and representatives from the provincial government and civil society.

Kalinga is promoting the use of borax as a more affordable and safer alternative to mercury.