DOE allows coal producer Semirara to resume mining

Semirara Mining and Power Corp., the Philippines' biggest coal producer, said on Monday the Department of Energy had allowed it to resume mining operations following a two-month suspension.

 

Semirara, a unit of Philippine conglomerate DMCI Holdings Inc., was forced to halt coal exports following a suspension imposed from July 17 after a landslide at Semirara's Panian mine in central Philippines buried nine workers alive.

 

In a Sept. 17 letter to Semirara President Victor Consunji, a copy of which accompanied the firm's disclosure to Philippine Stock Exchange, Department of Energy OIC-Secretary Zenaida Monsada said Semirara has "substantially complied with the conditions... resulting in a marked improvement in the level of safety in its mining operations." – Reuters