The Philippines, an archipelago of 7,000 plus islands and islets having vast areas of natural resources, is one of the hottest countries in Asia when raw materials is the subject for discussion. Yet, being a third world country ( despite the rich natural resources), the national government could not avoid but welcome international investors to put up businesses in the country to help uplift the dying economy and the employment problems being faced by thousands of Filipinos today. Naturally, one of these businesses is the mining industry.
We often hear that mining is a necessary tool for man’s progress. These mining industries bring to use the needed materials for the productions and development of railroads, sky scrapers, airplanes, cars, ships and many others. And according to the reports of the World Watch institute, the global use of minerals increased tenfold between 1750 and 1900, the increase has been thirteen-fold again.
Here in the Philippines, these industries commonly provide many basic services like they are the hope for the people’s dreams. They would answer the problems of the people from unemployment by providing transportation facilities and equipment, telecommunication, health and sanitation clinics, portable water systems, housing, recreational ares as well as formal and non-formal education. They too, install multi-purpose community centers, hospital and agricultural programs for the locals.
Yet, we all know that these mining industries will not stay for good. In other worlds, they won’t live with us permanently. The moment they got hold of the land, used and find what they needed, usually leave it overburdened, polluted and unusable. And they too, will leave all the dependent citizens empty-handed with no job at all.
Eventually, they will have to go back to their old lifestyles. But how about the environment, the most-of-the-time exploited yet important part of our lives? Can it still go back to its original form and growth? No, it can never be even if thousands of years will pass. Sad to say, people are often blinded by the empty promises given by these giant land miners. Only would they realize the real effects of mining after it’s all too late to recover. When would man really learn the lessons of regret from others?
Oftentimes, we hear these well-founded firms boost their status with the state of the art machines sating that it lessens and controls the environmental impacts of mining. But remember that machines aand facilities at times can fluctuate in performance, malfunction or even deviate from the expected plans. This is one of the reasons why in March 24, 1996, tailing spills from Marcopper Corporation which occurred in Marinduque, Philippines changed the lives of the locals totally. This very event left a legacy of environmental contamination, loss of livelihood, and health concerns.
Eversince the mining industry began, camp abandonment with fuel drums and other wastes are commonly done. For a mining industry to operate continuously, it needs a large scale quantity if water and energy resources. It is estimated that mines and smelters around the world account for 5-10 % of world’s energy use. And would you also believe that the ration for successful drilling operation is only 1:1000. This clearly means that a considerable quantity of human activity, machinery, and fuel are being transported and used everyday. The heavy equipment does not only require few drums of fuel but thousands of tons per work. Imagine how many piles of fuel drums are used up at the end of the day!
And the worst enemy of the environment is the Acid Mine Drainage (AMD). This happens when the sulfide-bearing minerals are exposed to oxygen and water. If these acid-generating rocks are not permanently sealed and regularly maintained, it will create leaks. And when this happens, it will contaminate rivers and streams killing aquatic life in a process that is almost impossible to counter-effect once it has begun.
According to the University of California Mining Waste Study ( undertaken for California Sate Legislature of 1988), the history of the mining industry does not offer assurances that it can solve this problem in sensitive areas. ” We consider the principle event faced by mining activity past , present, and future to be Acid Mining Drainage… it frequently occurs ater mining activity has come to an end, impossible to reverse and very expensive to clean up.”
This explains that the more surface are of work is exposed, the greater is the amount of acid created. This allowed the formation of heavy metals such as lead, zinc, copper, arsenic, selenium, mercury and cadmium which are truly lethal and harmful in the environment. Thus, Acid Generation is developed which usually last for decades, centuries or even longer. Its impacts can even travel many miles downstream. This is true with the Roman mine site in Great Britain which continued to generate Acid Drainage 2000 years after the mining ceased.
Recent studies also revealed that the Miller Creek, which drains directly into Yellowstone National Park, contained high concentration of sulfide. And to add stark evidence that the AMD cause bu the mining industries is the soul culprit of the environmental fiasco, the Rio Grande’s headwaters are now poisoned as a result of bankrupt Glactic Resources’ 1992 Summitive Mining Disaster.
These are but few of the negative impacts of mining in the world. But often we don’t hear these on the television or radio. These are the things that they haven’t told about mining. And how would the people know this? It is through education — real education for the community.
We have to take a firm stand now and side with the right and lasting decision. This choice is not for ourselves but for the future generations to come. That they may, too, experience the real beauty of nature. The environment is our only refuge from the dark ingenuities of man. When the land, trees, fishes, and animals are destroyed and gone, where will be placed? Should it be that we must always go back to the basic, to the nature? We are interrelated with each other, we can’t survive without them, and that’s a fact.
It is not too late to move and fight for what is just and right. Remember, there’s no place like home. Will you allow such compromise of living in comfort with mining’s existence fro 10 or 25 years and regretting the rest of the years to follow?
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Published 1st Issue 2nd semester 1999-2000
CoMMeNTS