Semirara may soon resume coal exports

The Department of Energy (DOE) ordered Consunji-owned Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) to implement additional safety measures to be able to resume operating its Panian mining site in Antique within the year.

The department’s officer in charge, Zenaida Monsada, told reporters the firm could finally export coal, an activity that was halted following an accident on July 17, 2015.

Monsada said the conditions include the hiring of technical experts as regular employees, rather than as mere consultants. Another is the careful study of the slope and other topographical features of the mine’s backfill area.

Environmental regulators lifted last Aug. 10 the suspension order on the operations of the Panian mine, where a pit wall collapsed and killed nine workers.

Before the firm could resume operations, however, it still has to contend with a separate cease and desist order from the DOE.

Semirara Mining exports an average of 8 million metric tons of coal annually.

Before the Panian accident, which Semirara Mining attributed to heavy rainfall, the company reported an increase in earnings. The firm said its net income in the first half of the year increased by 78 percent from last year to P4.71 billion.

The firm said coal production dropped by 8 percent in the same period to 4.46 million metric tons since some mining equipment were moved to other operating areas.

In an earlier disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the firm said it received on Aug. 12 a copy of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) decision lifting the suspension order on the company’s environmental compliance certificate (ECC) for the East Panian mine expansion project.

The ECC is a document certifying that the company’s project would not harm “environmentally critical areas.” Presidential Decree 1586, or the Environmental Impact Statement System, stipulates either a fine of P50,000 or the suspension or cancellation of the ECC.

DENR justified the lifting of the suspension order, noting Semirara Mining, the country’s top coal miner, expressed willingness to comply with the additional conditions. “It was manifested that most of the recommended conditions are already being done by the respondent, which is being reported to the DOE, consistent with their mandate to monitor its coal mining operations,” the DENR said.

Among the conditions set by the DENR was an annual certification from the DOE that it has followed safety rules and regulations, including a program ensuring slope stability at the mining site.

Semirara Mining was also ordered to submit a detailed assessment on what caused the northern wall or slope of the Panian mine to collapse. The assessment must include climate change considerations and projections, slope movement and ground water monitoring, and other related data.

The company was also ordered to conduct a hazard study within 60 days. Once the assessment is done, it must be submitted to the DENR-Environmental Management Bureau. This study should then be updated every five years, DENR said.

Semirara Mining was also required to install an automatic weather station there.

DENR had said the July 17 incident was the second accident since 2013 and indicated the company’s “inability” to address safety issues, including risks to the environment.