The government has lifted the four-year-old ban on open-pit mining, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources said.
The ban on open-pit mining was a policy initiated by the late former Environment Secretary Gina Lopez in 2017.
Reports said DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu overturned Lopez’s Administrative Order No. 2017-10, which banned the mining method for the extraction of copper, gold, silver, and/or complex ores in the country.
Cimatu, quoted in a GMANews.com report, said “lifting the ban on open-pit mining would revitalize the mining industry and usher in significant economic benefits to the country by providing raw materials for the construction and development of other industries and by increasing employment opportunities in rural areas where there are mining activities thereby stimulating countryside development.”
The official also said open-pit mining “is a globally-accepted method of mining” adding that it is “the most feasible option for mining near-surface or shallow ore deposits.”
Cimatu further defended the DENR’s decision, saying that major concerns on open pit “cannot be attributed to the use of the method itself.” He said concerns are often due to accidents involving wastes and tailings.
Further, Cimatu said the DENR has imposed conditions for open-pit mining including; use of surface mining shall not pose possible hazard to public health and safety resulting from ground failure or physical deterioration; “the open mine shall not release hazardous chemicals into the environment; the proponent has adequate information to conduct a comprehensive stakeholders’ involvement process to ensure that all interests and concerns are considered, and has social acceptability of its project since the commencement of the exploration activities; that the proponent has submitted and presented appropriate program/s for surface and subsurface slope-stability monitoring of potential slope failures; and that the proponent has accumulated sufficient geological data to conduct proper and assessment of local geology, rock mass characteristics, hydrogeology, and surface hydrology.”