CORDON, Isabela—A big mining firm here pays no heed to Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) cease and desist order to stop its open pit mining operations here, according to affected residents.
Residents said Golden Summit Mining Corporation (GSMC) continue to operate its operations in the mineral-rich villages of Anonang, Kakilingan and Villa Miemban pending its application for exploration with MGB.
But the MGB said it has already issued its stoppage order and for GSMC to vacate the mining area which is under a mining claim dispute.
Records in the MGB show that the mining area is operated by Vulcan Industrial and Mining Corporation with the original mining lease order Jose Jocson of Marian Mineral Exploration and Olympus Mining Corporation.
Alarmed residents over the GSMC operations said they have been appealing to national authorities to intervene and stop the operations but to no avail.
Vice Mayor Charlita Mariano said the operation is very alarming as the GSMC now uses heavy equipment in Sitio Roque in Kakilingan, Singking Adit VI (Vulcan Mine Site), Sitio Minanga in Villa Miemban and Sitio Gawed in Anonang.
Mariano said the residents are the ones suffering because of irresponsible mining by the GSMC destroying corn and rice fields of the residents who have recently mounted a protest rally in front of the municipal building here.
She said GSMC never spared the cornfields as they bulldozed away several parcel of cornfields allegedly ordered by Osmundo Chua, a Chinese national and chief executive officer of GSMC who promised royalties to the land owners but did not do so claiming the operation was unproductive.
“I wish Golden Summit would pay attention to MGB and stop these illegal mining operations. The Local Government of Cordon never issued any permit, much less an OreTransport Permit. We never signed anything but still they persist with their illegal activities,” Mariano said.
She said the residents have also complained of the disappearance of several mountains used to be a source of their livelihood and the blocking of the flow of water of Diadi River located at the buffer zone of the watershed of the Magat River Integrated Irrigation System.
“I was shown photos and videos of GSMC’s continuous illegal extraction of gold bearing nuggets (nava) from Adit VI in Sitio Gawed, Anonang with the use of heavy equipment creating a very deep shaft of more than 70 feet and more than 100 meters in width,” Mariano said.
Residents showing the video to local officials said the area is continuously being bulldozed and dug to extract minerals on a large-scale basis and hauled by the tangerine dump trucks to Barlo, Mabini in Pangasinan.
