Finding Romblon doors shut, mine firm quits

Faced with strong opposition from Romblon officials and residents, a Canadian mining company has abandoned plans to mine copper and gold in Tablas Island in the province.

Ivanhoe Philippines Inc., a subsidiary of Canada-based Ivanhoe Mines Ltd., withdrew its application for exploration permits at a meeting of its board of directors on Sept. 23, according to Leo Deiparine, Ivanhoe president, in a letter to the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB). Ivanhoe is one of the largest mining firms in the world.

Deiparine said in the Sept. 30 letter that “Tablas is a low-priority exploration target because of strong opposition of local politicians.”

Pursuing the application would be “a waste of the company’s time, funds and effort which can be focused on high-priority targets with communities responsive to exploration and mining,” the letter said.

Roland de Jesus, MGB regional director, on Thursday confirmed the withdrawal of the company’s permit application.

Leo L. Jasareno, MGB director, said in a phone interview that other firms were interested in mining in Tablas but a moratorium on new mining projects was keeping them at bay.

Ivanhoe had applied for a permit to mine more than 10,000 hectares of land in Tablas on March 1, 2010. It had sought another permit on May 28, 2010, this time to mine more than 6,000 hectares.

The Romblon Ecumenical Forum Against Mining

(Refam) and Alyansa Tigil Mina, which led the opposition to mining in Tablas, lauded the Ivanhoe decision to pull out. They said mining would destroy the island’s environment and possibly contaminate its water supply.

The groups said the moratorium on new mining projects imposed by the provincial government and a bill seeking to declare Romblon a mining-free zone were key factors in the Ivanhoe decision to pull out.

“This victory is just the beginning. The challenge to protect our islands is a life-long commitment,” said Ronelio Fabriquer, Philippine Independent Church bishop and Refam convenor, in a statement.

Romblon Rep. Eleandro Jesus F. Madrona recently filed House Bill No. 4815 declaring the province a mining-free zone. “This is a giant

step toward a mining-free Romblon,” said the congressman.

“We will continue to defend the right of our people to a balanced and healthy ecology,” said Romblon Gov. Eduardo Firmalo. With a report from Riza T. Olchondra