Benguet gives up part of claim

Benguet Corp., country’s oldest mining firm, is giving up a part of its claim in the Antamok mines in Itogon, Benguet, to give way to regulated small-scale mining operations.

The company’s decision came after it was accused of allegedly endangering the communities in the area by allowing small-scale miners to operate within its property, where miners perished due to landslides caused by Typhoon ‘Ompong.’

Benguet decided to donate its 80-hectare property in Antamok to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to make it easier for the government to regulate small-scale mines.

“If the area would be converted into a “minahang bayan” (an area dedicated to small-scale miners) all the other small-scale miners in the areas of Benguet would be transferred there and the government can step in to regulate and control their activities,” Benguet SVP Reynaldo Mendoza said in a briefing on the sidelines of the annual Mining Conference and Exhibit in Pasay City hosted by the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines.

The Antamok mine is considered a valuable mineral resource for the company, with most of the areas left unexplored.

But in 1991, it voluntarily suspended operations following the 1990 Luzon earthquake and the low prices of gold in the international market.

To prevent illegal miners from operating in the mine site, Benguet sealed the main opening.

But over the years, small-scale miners have “created their own access portals,” Benguet said.

The company hopes that through the creation of a minahang bayan, small-scale mining in the region would be legalized and regulated, adding that irresponsible mining has contributed to the “degradation of the environment.” —KARL R. OCAMPO