Philex seeks more time to meet rehab condition

PADCAL Mine, Benguet— Philex Mining Corp. is considering seeking an extension of its permit for the temporary resumption of its operations here, saying it needs more time to achieve the minimum requirements under the rehabilitation work laid out in the  permit.

Philex vice president Libby Ricafort said in an interview that the company’s commitment under the current temporary permit—which expires on July 8—to fill up Tailings Storage Facility No. 3 (TSF3) to an elevation of 592 meters above sea level “is not achievable.”

“We need several months more to do that,” said Ricarfort, who is resident manager of Padcal operations.

“Also, third-party evaluation on whether the tailings pond has regained sufficient factor of safety (stability) may take until next year.”

He explained that the ideal elevation of 592 meters could be achieved with 3.5 million cubic meters of fresh tailings, of which at least 2.4 million was already produced.

Regulators had allowed the Padcal mine to resume operations starting March 8 after Philex voluntarily ceased operations for seven months.

A temporary resumption of operations was allowed to enable Philex to produce about 25,000 cubic meters of fresh tailings daily.

The excessive rainfall in August 2012 caused the creation of a sinkhole, which released water and sediment into nearby Balog Creek which converges with the Agno River.

The tailings reached the San Roque reservoir in Pangasinan. Philex has vowed to clean up the tailings at San Roque. To do that, however, the company needs the go-ahead from National Power Corp. , permits for the building of roads and the installation of imported, customized equipment needed for the job.

In Padcal, Ricafort said the first of the three chutes of a P327-million spillway for TSF3 had been completed and the second was expected to be finished by June 20.