The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will ask Sagittarius Mines Inc. (SMI), the firm behind the $5.9-billion Tampakan copper-gold project, and Semirara Mining and Power Corp. to explain environmental violations discovered in the agency’s review or risk the suspension of their environmental compliance certificates (ECC).
Environment Undersecretary Leo Jasereno said the agency was set to issue show-cause orders to the two firms after separate evaluations showed violations in their environmental compliance. SMI and Semirara Mining will be given at least seven days to explain before the DENR moves to revoke their environmental ECCs.
The review found out that SMI failed to submit proof of compliance on permits and clearances. It also failed to secure an endorsement from the local government of Sultan Kudarat.
“This mine is in the ’food basket’ of Mindanao,” said Environment Secretary Gina Lopez. “[The mining operations] will affect 6 rivers and 4 provinces.”
Jasereno said the Department of Agrarian Reform has also issued certificates of land ownership award (CLOA) to 3,000 farmers residing in the area where the open-pit mine would be placed.
“The question is: Can they operate the mine if there is a CLOA on the mining pit?” he asked. “The DENR cannot allow that unless the situation is resolved. The ECC should not have been issued.”
Lopez said the ECC for SMI was secured from the Office of the President from the previous administration.
“Now I’m reviewing why we gave it at all,” she said, adding that she was also moving to revamp the process of ECC application.
Paul G. Dominguez, brother of Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, is invested in SMI.
The DENR has also received various complaints on siltation, mangrove clearing and coral reef damage due to the mining operation in Semirara Island in Antique.
Semirara Mining is the biggest coal-mining operation in the country producing 96 percent of country’s coal output. It provides fuel for the 600-MW Calaca power plant, which was designed to specifically take in coal from Semirara.
“It will not be easy to close because we don’t want brownouts,” Lopez said, as coal is still critical in the country’s energy mix.
Semirara said it has yet to receive a copy of any order from the agency and reiterated that it was fully compliant of environmental regulations.
The agency is also set to suspend today the mining permits of Mount Sinai Exploration Mining and Development Corp. and EMIR Mineral Resources Corp., which both operate in Eastern Samar and ship chromite to China.
Lopez also announced that the DENR was reviewing the ECC granted to Century Communities Corp. for its proposed 58-hectare housing subdivision near the La Mesa Watershed that could lead to a contamination of the water.