ISRI adheres to sustainable and responsible mining
This has reference to the information that March David Fianza wrote in describing his photo of our Sangilo Mine’s tailings storage dacility (TSF) with ongoing enhancement activities that was published in the Dec. 25, 2022 issue of the Baguio Midland Courier.
Mine wastes are rocks with no precious minerals, very much like the aggregate rocks used in construction; they are not pollutants.
We also do not dispose of these rocks. Rather, we repurpose these rocks, or mine waste, into construction materials for road maintenance and as TSF rockfill, as approved in our work program monitored monthly by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau-Cordillera.
Any fine material with the waste rocks is arrested using silt ponds so as not to contribute to river siltation.
The generation, handling, repurposing and storage of mine waste rocks are all covered by Department of Environment and Natural Resources Administrative Order 2010-2 or the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic 7942 (Mining Act), which the company strongly adheres to.
The claims of animal and fish kill, related to the moving and use of waste rocks in the TSF, are baseless.
All activities planned and conducted in the TSF are in close coordination with the host barangay Poblacion, the municipal government of Itogon, and community-chosen representatives from people’s organizations.
Also, all activities in the mine including those in the TSF are monitored quarterly by the multi-partite monitoring team composed of DENR-CAR and its attached bureaus such as the MGB and Environment Management Bureau, concerned LGUs, and community-chosen representatives.
The Itogon-Suyoc Resources, Inc. is committed to sustainable mining practices.
In fact, we won the Safest Exploration in category B in the 2022 Presidential Mineral Industry Environmental Award, Best Mining Forest Contest and Safety Mines Award of the DENR. — ERIC S. ANDAL, OIC-Resident Manager, ISRI, Benguet