Mindanao mines’ integrity could be affected by quakes

FAMILY AFFAIR Members of the T’boli tribe wash smashed rocks from a mining tunnel in the gold-rich village of Kematu in South Cotabato. —INQUIRER PHOTO

KORONADAL CITY, South Cotabato, Philippines — The series of tremors that jolted Mindanao in the last three weeks, including three powerful ones, has cast doubts on the integrity of mines in the Soccsksargen region.

Following the Oct. 31 magnitude 6.5 temblor, mining operations in the gold-rush T’boli town in the province’s upper valley area were suspended, according to Siegfried Flaviano, environmental management chief of South Cotabato.

“We suspended the small-scale mining operations in T’boli to assess the integrity and safety of the tunnels,” he said on Tuesday.

It was a precautionary measure to also ensure the safety of miners amid the ongoing assessment, Flaviano added.

More than 100 tunnels

More than 100 tunnels are operated by small-scale miners in the T’boli’s so-called Minahang Bayan.

Soccsksargen or Region 12 hosts small-scale tunnel mining operations principally for gold, as well as the Tampakan project, the largest known undeveloped copper and gold minefield in Southeast Asia.

The three temblors have left at least 21 dead and 421 others injured, and affected 188,000 individuals in 246 villages in Regions 11 and 12, officials said.

Fearful of another strong quake, many families have refused to go back to their homes and instead pitched tents along the Makilala highway in North Cotabato.

Jaybee Garganera, coordinator of Alyansa Tigil Mina, urged the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) to assess the stability of mining tenements, particularly of Sagittarius Mines Inc. which is pursuing the $5.9-billion Tampakan project.

“The structural and geological stability of mine areas and mine facilities must be clearly established by the MGB, so that the safety of communities around the mine sites is ensured,” Garganera said in a statement.

Fault lines

Environmental and mining experts have raised concerns over the fault lines that could affect some of the mine facilities inside the Tampakan tenement, Garganera said.

Sagittarius officials could not be reached for comment, but the firm had said in a study that its tailings storage facility (TSF) would be constructed and managed in accordance “with the highest international standards.”

“We are confident that the TSF designed for the Tampakan project would withstand the most extreme events. Just as high-rise buildings exist in earthquake-prone areas around the world and resist strong earthquakes, today it is absolutely feasible to design tailings dams to withstand such events,” the study said.

But Garganera urged the government to continue to shelve the Tampakan project pending the MGB’s geologic assessment.

Ensuring the safety of Sagittarius’ employees and the communities around the Tampakan project would serve the firm’s interest, he said.

The controversial mining project has yet to go into commercial stream because of the open-pit mining ban imposed by South Cotabato that had been challenged by promining supporters before a local court here.