Benguet Corp. denies role in Zambales mine ordeal

Benguet Corp. on Thursday denied a report by Lopez-owned ANC (ABS-CBN News Channel) that blamed the company for an abandoned silver and copper mine in Zambales, saying a different firm was responsible.

“[Environment Secretary Gina Lopez] erroneously assailed the company for abandoning the Dizon mine and failing to rehabilitate it during her recent visit to the site with the media in tow,” Benguet said.

Lopez is part of the clan that owns and operates the giant broadcasting firm.

The TV report, aired on Tuesday night and posted online Wednesday morning, did not show Lopez mentioning Benguet. It was reporter Abner Mercado who said that mine owner Dizon Copper and Silver Mines Inc. (DCSMI) “signed an agreement with Benguet Corp. in 1975 to run the mining operation.”

“But after a 20-year agreement with Dizon Mines, Benguet Corp. abandoned its mining operations when a landslide hit the mining infrastructure and the decline of copper prices in the market,” Mercado reported.

In a statement, Benguet said the Environment chief’s statements putting the blame on the company for the condition of the open pit in San Marcelino town “are false, misinformed, misleading and … unfairly and maliciously impugns” the company’s reputation.

“A basic, elementary, and cursory look at DENR record would have shown that (Benguet) is not the errant party here,” the company said. It said DENR consultant Leo Jasareno, former director of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, also knew this.

Lopez, along with Jasareno and other support staff as well as TV crew members, visited the mine site last Tuesday. Lopez lamented the high acidity of runoff water and surface water stored in an open pit in San Marcelino, which supposedly overflows during heavy rains, ruining farms and disrupting fishing activities of locals.

“A simple due diligence, and verification of the facts beforehand would have shown that her tirade should have been directed at [DCSMI], which is the claim owner of the project under its mining lease contracts,” Benguet said.

The company said the full responsibility for the mine’s continued operation, maintenance and rehabilitation was transferred back to DCSMI in 1997, when the project was still operating and being developed for additional orebody.

Benguet added that in 1997, all environmental infrastructure—the waste dump, tailings storage facility and silt dams—were in place, well-maintained and in good condition.