Singapore 27/07/2016 - Regina Lopez, the Philippine environment secretary spearheading an ongoing mine audit in the country, has assured the indigenous people in Mindanao island that errant miners will be suspended as the natives alleged four miners have affected their livelihoods.
During a dialogue with Lopez on Sunday, representatives of the Lumad - indigenous people of Mindanao - complained about new open pit mines and tailings ponds constructed in their areas, which have severely affected their livelihoods, the Philippine Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR) said in a statement late on Tuesday.
The group cited Sagittarius Mines in Tampakan in Sultan Kudarat, SR Metals in Tubay in Agusan del Sur, and Greenstone Mining and Taganito Mining both in Surigao del Norte, as among those whose operations have seriously affected indigenous communities due to siltation, open pit mining and stockpiles, according to the statement.
In response, Lopez has assured the Lumad that mining operations in the region found in violation of mining and environmental laws and regulations would be suspended.
She also urged the natives to submit their proposed development plan for areas which have been affected by destructive mining activities.
The Lumad had appealed to Lopez to halt illegal logging and encroachment in watershed areas, return ancestral land to the natives displaced by mining activies and stop militarisation in their areas which they claimed was related to the plan of large-scale mining companies to setup new businesses.
The mining crackdown in the Philippines has supported global nickel prices on concerns of disruptions to the country’s nickel ore exports. But market participants have downplayed the long-term effect of mining developments in the Philippines even after a sixth nickel miner was ordered to stop production last Friday.
The London Metal Exchange three-month nickel price was last at $10,350 per tonne on Wednesday on Select, unchanged from the previous day's close.