Mining firm exec says no breach in Itogon ponds

BAGUIO CITY—An official of Benguet Corp. said there was no breach in the company’s tailings dam in Itogon town, Benguet province, nor was there a danger of a future breach there.

The company presented plans to improve two of its waste storage facilities in a public consultation with Itogon officials and residents last week.

Local officials supported the company’s plans to increase the elevation of its tailings facilities, fearful that the ponds would spill waste in the future.

In a letter to the Inquirer, Renato Claravall, Benguet Corp. chief financial officer and officer in charge, said the community need not fear because “there is no breach or the danger of a future breach.”

“The work program entails increasing the crests of the embankments of Tailings Ponds No. 2 and 2A to a level of 775 meters to contain or impound additional mill wastes equivalent to eight years of operation,” he said.

Claravall said the work program complied with the company’s environmental compliance certificate, as approved by the Cordillera regional offices of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau and the Environmental Management Bureau.

The firm said the project aimed to protect the community that has hosted the mine for more than a century. Vincent Cabreza, Inquirer Northern Luzon