Philex plugs leaking Padcal mine tunnel

Philex Mining Corp. on Thursday said that it completed the concrete plugging of the tunnel at its Padcal Mine, in Benguet, which had leaked wastewater and sediments into the nearby Balog Creek and the Agno River at the height of a typhoon two months ago.

According to an official of the country’s largest mining firm, the company will now focus on the design and construction of a spillway that is part of the rehabilitation of its tailings pond where waste products from its mining operations are collected.

“Today we have successfully plugged our tailings pond’s Tunnel A, and we are now focusing our resources on the making of a spillway to replace the penstock system for draining water from the pond,” Philex senior vice president for corporate affairs Michael Toledo said in a statement.

The leak—the first of two such accidents at the company due to excessive rains brought on by typhoons Ferdie and Gener—forced Philex to shut its only operating gold and copper mine for the rest of the year, and caused the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to impose a P1-billion fine on the publicly listed firm.

Philex is contesting the penalty saying the wastewater spillage was due to force majeure, or something beyond their control.

According to Toledo, Philex personnel completed the pouring of cement measuring 61 meters long into the 5-meter high and 5-meter wide tunnel yesterday afternoon. He described it as the “final move” to shut off the passageway of water and sediment from the tailings pond.

The one-kilometer tunnel was the source of the wastewater discharged from a penstock, which the firm had also condemned and sealed with concrete following the Aug. 1 accident.

The water from the non-operational tailings pond would henceforth be discharged through another tunnel. This alternative penstock and tunnel would also be condemned and sealed once the spillway, whose actual construction would start next week and take about six months to build, is completed.

Toledo said Philex has also stepped up its cleanup drive on Balog Creek following the successful plugging of the sinkhole, with about 300 employee-volunteers shoveling sediment into sacks and hauling these sacks into temporary storage facility.

He added that more volunteers, including students, teachers, and families living in and around Padcal and along Agno River have expressed willingness to participate in the cleanup drive.

These volunteers will have to wait, however, for a few more days while company personnel clear trails that are easier to traverse leading to the creek and its convergence point with the Agno River.