PALO, Leyte – The Mines and Geosciences Bureau temporarily stopped accepting applications for offshore mining amid environmental concerns raised by various sectors in Leyte.
MGB regional director Glenn Marcelo Noble said a directive was received from the DENR central office last June 12 advising all regional offices to temporarily suspend accepting applications for offshore mining due to the need to revisit the existing guidelines.
“The government believes that the protocols (mentioned in the guidelines) are not yet sufficient to conduct offshore mining in the Philippines,” Noble said.
“Before this, we thought that the guidelines were sufficient. But apparently, they are not based on present assessment,” he added.
The existing guidelines are contained in Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 2016-05 issued on May 16, 2016.
Its provisions include the prohibition on the use of high-pressure water jets in the extraction of seabed minerals; prohibition on the use of chemicals and size reduction in onboard mineral processing and laboratory testing/analysis; return of non-valuable extracted minerals to mined-out areas through the use of submerged discharge pipes and use of sediment screens/curtains to minimize the dispersion of particulates; and imposition of a contingency plan for emergency situations.
Noble said the suspension in accepting offshore mining applications is only temporary until a new set of guidelines is released. But, he added, MGB will continue to receive new mining applications as long as they are not covered by any prohibition.
Suspended but not out
In January this year, MGB announced through its website that it is accepting new mining applications for three sites in Leyte after it cancelled the application of three companies due to failure of the applicants to submit the necessary requirements which include a consent of the concerned local government unit.
These areas are 13,139 hectares in the municipalities of Babatngon, Barugo, Carigara and Capooocan applied by Grand Total Exploration and Mining Corp. last March 18, 2010; 5,309 hectares in the towns of Palo and Tanauan and Tacloban City applied by Rushfield Mining Company in December 19, 2005; and 3,022 hectares in Dulag by Mt. Magan Resources and Development Corp. last April 22, 2010.
The announcement included coordinates of the three areas which, after plotting, were found to be in Leyte Gulf in the eastern seaboard of the province and Carigara Bay on the north.
Noble said there is another existing application that covers the municipal water of Macarthur town but the applicant has stopped working on it after their equipment that were supposed to be used in the exploration were destroyed by Typhoon Yolanda in November 2013.
Rich marine resources
All the three areas that were opened to new mining applications in Leyte form part of the Fisheries Management Area 8, an area that is abundant in marine and aquatic resources.
FMA 8, which covers 51 coastal municipalities of seven provinces of Eastern Visayas and Caraga Region, is considered a hub for aquaculture, with significant production of seaweed, milkfish, tilapia, shrimp/prawns, and shellfish.
Its fishing grounds, which include the western coastline of Calicoan Island, the northwestern coastline of Suluan Island, Siargao Island coastline, Lanuza Bay, Panaon Island coastline, and the Samar Island coastline, is home to over 300 marine and aquatic species including mackerels, squids, carangids, and shrimps/prawns.
Rey Agudo, a 20-year-old education student who goes fishing on weekends in Carigara Bay to support his studies, says he fears any mining-related activity – from exploration to actual operation – will adversely affect his catch as well as the livelihood of thousands of fisherfolk who are dependent on the bounty of the bay
He said MGB neither consulted the fisherfolk nor the local government units that it is opening the waters to new mining applications.
Noble said the eastern seaboard of Leyte is known for its rich deposit of magnetite, a mineral used in the production of steel. Magnetite is also used in the manufacture of various magnetic devices, water treatment, and as a pigment.
“We do not know yet what mineral deposits we have in Carigara Bay. There could be gold, copper, manganese, chromite or iron there but we will only know when an exploration is done. But, of course, it is subject to the compliances of our requirements,” Noble said.
Exploration entails injecting a tube below the seabed to extract earth samples beneath it to determine the volume and quality mineral deposits whether they are of commercial quantity worthy of the huge investment that mining entails.
Noble admitted that there remains no study on the possible environmental impact of offshore mining in the Philippines. He said that while offshore mining is already done in some countries, this has never been done in the country yet
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