ITOGON, Benguet—Benguet Corp. will embark on a four-pronged approach to implement its final mine rehabilitation and development plan to complete its mined out Antamok open pit here.
Lawyer Froilan Roger C. Lawilao, BC administration department head, said included in the final plan they submitted to the Mines and Geosciences Bureau includes the establishment of an ecotourism park, the temporary residual containment area for the generated waste of the municipality, the construction of an engineered sanitary landfill with a waste-to-energy component, and the establishment of a Minahang Bayan within the mined-out area.
“We already made initial consultations with the host and neighboring communities, and were able to gather inputs that we will incorporate in our submitted final mine rehabilitation and development plan for consideration by the concerned government agencies,” Lawilao stressed.
The BC official pointed out the rehab plan will still undergo a rigid process that includes consultations with the concerned stakeholders before its implementation, “that is why the company is working on the appropriate details to benefit all concerned parties.”
Lawilao said there is a need for the company to sustain the required information and education campaign for its Antamok landfill project, because people have misconceptions on the planned landfill and waste-to-energy facility within their communities.
He claimed it is important to disabuse the minds of the people that when matters of landfills are being discussed, there is always an impression of it being likened to the Irisan open dumpsite in Baguio City “when it is not the case.”
He explained the sanitary landfill involves the use of the latest technology in the treatment of solid waste, coupled with its waste-to-energy component that must pass stringent environmental standards. That would ensure the protection of the health of the people in its neighboring and host communities, and the preservation and protection of the state of the environment in the locality.
BC officials described the rehabilitation of its Antamok open pit site as a green mine rehabilitation initiative that will be done in partnership with a private developer, Goldrich Natural Exploration and Development Inc., the Itogon municipal government, and the Baguio City government.
Based on initial consultations with the residents of the communities near the Antamok open pit, Lawilao disclosed there is a need for the project proponents to clarify the misconceptions on the landfill among the people. There has been a “positive response” on the planned project, which will benefit not only Baguio and Itogon but also the municipalities of La Trinidad, Sablan, Tuba, and Tublay, he added.