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Govt should look at possible links between mining, landslides


MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine government should examine a possible connection between a major landslide in Compostela Valley and mineral extraction activities in the area, an anti-mining alliance said. Since the landslide occurred in an area immediately west of the Philippine Fault System, the Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) said that the government should “immediately suspend mining operations." The government—through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)—should also “conduct an investigation on the possible environmental safeguards that may have been violated" by mining companies, the group said in a statement. The landslide, which claimed 24 lives and injured 32 residents, “occurred in Masara village," where Apex Mining Corp. and Crew Gold have ongoing operations exploring for gold, copper, silver, zinc and other associated mineral deposits, the group said. “This is not the first time that a major landslide has claimed lives in the village of Masara," the group said. It added that last year, 10 people died and that the Mines and Geosciences Bureau assessed the area to be high-risk. “Why are mining operations permitted to continue at the risk of the communities living adjacent to their operations?" the group asked. Crew Gold, a Philippine-Canadian joint venture, holds nearly three-fourths of shares (72.87 percent) of Apex Mining Corp. In June last year, the company secured government approval to explore and extract minerals in a 1558 hectare area in Maco. The group claimed that “the project is in the operating/expansion stage, a priority mining project that has disclosed costs of $36.58 million dollars in the period 2004-2007." The statement added that the funds were used for the construction of additional processing facilities. “This landslide and its possible link with mining operations, is what DENR Sec. Lito Atienza should be minding now. The whole point is urgency and crisis, not political vendetta," Jaybee Garganera, a member of the ATM said. “Just as well, mining tenements all over the country should now be under serious scrutiny following disaster after disaster." - GMANews.TV
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