DENR: Tailings pond must be safe before Philex suspension can be lifted

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said that the suspension placed on Philex Mining Corp.’s Benguet operations will be lifted once the safety of one of its tailings pond has been assured.

 

Environment chief Ramon Paje issued the suspension a day after the mining firm temporarily stopped the operation of its Padcal Mine site after one of its underground tunnels became flooded due to successive weather disturbances. 

 

Paje said that based on an ocular inspection conducted by Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), water and sediment discharge from the tailings pond has not yet affected the San Roque Power Dam.

 

He added that the DENR is now looking into possible violations of mining and environmental laws that may have been committed by Philex. The DENR suspension was issued last Thursday.

 

Philex is the country’s second leading producer of copper concentrate. It has been operating for 57 years. — DVM, GMA News