Philex Mining amenable to a compromise deal with govt on Padcal mine

Philex Mining Corp. is willing to enter into a compromise deal with government on the busted waste pond that contaminated the environment with tailings at its Padcal mine in Benguet.   “We are willing for a compromise,” Michael Toledo, Philex Mining vice president for corporate affairs, said in an interview with reporters on Tuesday.   “Our plan of action is to work with the DENR. It is for the best of interests if we can settle our issues without going to the courts,” he added.   The Department of Environment and Natural Resources and its Mines and Geosciences Bureau have imposed stiff fines against Philex Mining when mine tailings from its waste pond flowed into nearby waterways.   Toledo said the company would rather that “everything will be resolved in due time. There is a procedure under the Mining Act and the IRR [implementing rules and regulations] that will aid us in the resolution of these issues.”   Despite the threat of losing its environmental compliance certificate that serves as its operating, the company maintains that what happened in Padcal constitutes a force majeure.   The tailings pond overflowed at the height of monsoon rains last August and its pipe broke, causing waste from Philex Mining’s gold and copper operations to spill into the environment.   A “notice of adverse findings” issued by the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), an agency also under the Environment and Natural Resources Department, asserts that Philex Mining violated Condition No. 2 of its ECC: “…pond effluent discharges shall conform with the standards set forth under RA 9275 or the Clean Water Act of the Philippines and its implementing rules and regulations.”   A consequence of non-compliance with provisions of the ECC is revocation of the permit and a fine of P50,000 per violation, according to EMB.   Philex said it is willing to go through arbitration before the department’s Pollution Adjudication Board if government deems it the right thing to do.   Philex Mining said it already spent P600 million in clean-up efforts alone.   It still faces penalties of P1 billion for damages to the environment. — VS, GMA News