Gov’t study spells out need for mining sustainability

SUSTAINABLE MINING. Dr. Enrico Paringit (leftmost),  Executive Director of the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research Development, in a press conference on Monday (Nov. 18, 2024) said they would push for the adoption of the result of a three-year research on making the mining industry sustainable. He said the aim is to address mine wastes and protect the environment. (PNA photo by Liza T. Agoot)

BAGUIO CITY — The government is highlighting the need for the mining sector to adopt sustainable practices to make it competitive and environment-friendly.

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has funded a three-year study that will help make the mining industry more sustainable, the results of which will be presented to stakeholders who will attend the annual Philippine Mine Safety and Environment Association (PMSEA) conference in this city from Nov. 20-22.

“It came out of the realization that we need to support the mining and mineral sector to become more sustainable and for the industry to be competitive while we look out for the environment as well,” said Dr. Enrico Paringit, Executive Director of the DOST- Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research Development (PCIEERD) in a press conference here Monday.

Paringit said the study, dubbed Project Pamana (Philippine Mining at the National to Catchment Scale; From Legacy Impacts to Sustainable Futures), is a joint effort led by the University of Glasgow and the University of the Philippines-Los Banos.

The P15 million study, funded by the UK Natural Environment Research Council and the DOST-PCIEERD, aims to address environmental issues in abandoned mines in 10 critical river basins in the Philippines.

A counterpart project, the Philippines Remediation of Mine Tailings (PROMT) worth P17 million, in turn, is aimed at working on new ways to handle and clean up mine wastes that will help recover additional metal to generate revenue for mining companies and the government, and improve tailings management to lower operational expenses and reuse land from old mining sites to reduce long-term liabilities of mining companies.

“Mining has a large contribution to our economy as a whole — a lot of impact that we need to look out for the environment. We are excited to see what and where the links, and how to address it and their impact because we need to put out not only solid science but also a way to make it greener,” Paringit said.

Kathryn Goonenough, representative of the UKRI-RC, said their country supports initiatives on sustainable mining.

“We have been funding these kinds of programs. We have another with Canada on the same topic. We are also holding workshops to look at possible partnerships on these topics which are potential for funding,” she added.

Dr. Carlo Arcilla, Director of the DOST- Philippine Nuclear Research Institute and the project leader of PROMT said: ‘Mining companies themselves are interested in the result and potentially want to fund.”
(PNA)