It has been said that “if it can’t be grown, it has to be mined,” which means that anything that cannot be grown on soil has to be drawn out from the depths of the earth in one way or another.
Essentially, mineral products make up components for machinery, wind turbines, cars and trucks, marine transportation, airplanes, fertilizers, energy towers, appliances, solar panels, and communication gadgets like cellphones, radios and computers. Minerals are used as well in the construction of roads, bridges, dams, or manufacture of plates, cookware and clothing. This shows how modern living is sustained by elements extracted from mining.
In this electronic age, much of the infrastructure depend on copper, besides fossil fuel and uranium.
PH among top countries in gold-copper deposits
Mining in the Philippines successfully commenced at the turn of the 20th century, during the infancy of the Republic. To process and administer claims and all related transactions pertaining to mining, the Philippine Mining Bureau was set up in 1900. First to open was Benguet Mine in 1907, followed by 17 other companies in Baguio and Benguet.
The agency has since become the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), absorbing the functions of the abolished Mineral Resources Development Board (MRDB) and the Gold Mining Industry Assistance Board (GMIAB).
In the latest report of Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the country is ranked globally as the third largest gold producer, fourth for copper and fifth for nickel. In Southeast Asia, the Philippines has the greatest number of proven deposits of metallic and non-metallic minerals. MGB estimates that the Philippines has a total 21.5 billion metric tons of metallic minerals, majority of which is copper, in about 30 million hectares of land deemed as possible areas for mining.
The visionary that was Don Andres Soriano
In the early 1950s, shortly after World War 2, bemedalled war veteran Col. Andres Soriano established Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corporation (Atlas Mining) for porphyry copper ore mining.
Already a well-known young industrialist even before the war, Don Andres Soriano, as he would be known later, had set his sights on the small village called Lutopan in Toledo, Cebu where he foresaw a vibrant future, not just for himself but most especially for the town and the province — a future riding on just one mineral: copper.
In 1952, Soriano bought all the existing claims of a mining company to begin his quest to extract this mineral, much needed in the post-war reconstruction of Asia. He had combined all of his existing mineral interests, including a gold mine in Masbate.
A year after production began in 1955, milling for the ore trebled. The company’s tax contributions to the municipality made Toledo a chartered city in 1960, only six years after Atlas Mining started full operations.
The visionary that he was, Soriano, of Spanish parentage but took Filipino citizenship, steered the company to become the world’s third largest producer of copper.
The city became vibrant because of Atlas, until the 1990s when the price of copper ore in the world market plunged to its lowest, leaving the Sorianos with no recourse but to suspend operations in 1994. Lutopan was likened to a ghost town during the inoperative years of Atlas.
In 2000, Alfredo Ramos of the National Book Store fame, signed a Memorandum of Agreement with Atlas with his Alakor Corporation for the rehabilitation of the Toledo mining company, assuming its obligations.
In 2004, Carmen Copper Corporation (Carmen Copper), in honor of Soriano’s wife, Carmen – was established as full subsidiary of Atlas Mining. It has exclusive operating rights over the in situ (in its original place) mineral resources and ore reserves of Carmen, Lutopan and Biga mineral deposits, collectively known as Toledo copper mine covering 1,674 hectares. This is part of the Atlas mineral property covering 5,218 hectares, consisting of 3,284 hectares Atlas-owned mining claims and 1,934 hectares of mining claims belonging to claim-owners who have valid operating agreements with Atlas.
In 2008, milling started producing 20,000 metric tons per day. Soon after, it made its first copper concentrate shipment to China. The following year, Carmen Copper completed the second phase of its rehabilitation of the mining tributuary.
Environmental management and reforestation program
With a solid track record in responsible resource extraction that spans for more than 60 years, Atlas Mining through Carmen Copper Corporation remains committed to applying best practices in environmental management by protecting and enhancing the environment, reducing and preventing adverse environmental pollution, and rehabilitating mined-out areas, thus maintaining ecological balance within and outside the environs of its mining complex.
From 2007 to June 2018, Carmen Copper has grown 800,974 seedlings of different tree species in 633.96 hectares of mine-affected lands. It has vigorously pursued its environmental protection and enhancement activities, accelerating enrichment of sparsely vegetated areas and transformed once barren agricultural lands into orchards that will become a wildlife-rich habitat. Continuous slope stabilization resulted into new mantles of vegetation on otherwise bare slopes and pocket forest envelopes, even residential compounds.
CCC has also been donating seedlings to different agencies and local government units in support of the National Greening Program (NGP).
Mineral waste such as rocks and tailings produced from mining and ore processing are properly disposed under waste management plans currently in place.
Water for industrial and domestic use are sourced from the Malubog Reservoir, with conservation efforts permeated in all activities of the mining operations.
Carmen Copper has an Integrated Management TUV System for ISO 14001:2015 (Environmental Management) and BS OHSAS 18001:2007 as certified by Technischer Überwachungsverein.
Epitome of responsible mining
Although mining generally has contributed much to the economic growth of the country (employing 236,000 workers and four percent in total exports as of 2016), the recent disasters in small-scale mining and environmental issues from big mining companies have created strong arguments on the viability and sustainability of the industry despite regulations, like the Mining Act of 1995 (Republic Act 7942) and its Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (RIRR).
Considered in the industry today as one of the most socially and environmentally-sensitive legislations, RA 7942 has specific provisions to take into consideration. These are local government empowerment, respect and concern for the indigenous cultural communities, equitable sharing of benefits of natural wealth, economic demands of present generation while providing the necessary foundation for future generations, worldwide trend toward globalization, and protection for and wise management of the environment.
In September 2016, retired Lt. Gen. Roy Deveraturda was tasked to assist in the DENR audit of Carmen Copper to make sure that the Atlas Mining subsidiary complied with all the requirements of the environment — standards of safety, occupational health issues, execution of social development projects where 1.5 percent of the company’s operating cost as mandated by law be spent for projects for the communities in the locality, like education, health, livelihood programs and infrastructure support. It was reported that the DENR was satisfied with what they had witnessed during the inspection visit and declared Carmen Copper to be compliant of all requirements.
What then should have been a six-month stint extended until Deveraturda was appointed president and chief executive officer.
“I believe that we have one of the best mining laws in the world, comparable to top mining countries like Canada and Australia. It deems that organized mining or big mining companies must comply with the laws. There are so many things that we must be able to satisfy in terms of safety, occupational health, environmental impact, support
to society or community, among other things, which I believe are just right for us to really regulate,” Deveraturda told The Sunday Times Magazine soon after the inauguration of the Carmen Copper Heritage Center in September.
“I would say that mining can be done responsibly by understanding that we are stewards of the natural resources. We hold in our hands the responsibility of managing this resource to benefit not only the people in the locality but also the entire world. At the same time, we do it without sacrificing the environment and enhancing the lives of the people in the community. It is essentially about responsible stewardship,” he explained.
With the lessons in 1994, when the copper market took a downturn, the military retiree is always mindful of how the economic activities of Toledo are fueled by the presence of Carmen Copper.
“The people of Toledo have built their lives anchored on the economic opportunities brought about by Carmen Copper. Aside from producing the goods, we take our social and environmental responsibilities seriously,” he related.
Finished product processing
According to the Copper Development Association (CDA), the market development, engineering and information services arm of the copper industry in North America, copper is the oldest metal known to man, discovered 10,000 years ago. Its uses have expanded to include hearing, cooling and refrigeration and antimicrobial.
With this, a lot of sectors are asking if the Philippines should process the ores at home rather than export them where the importer makes more profit than the source country of the mineral.
“Carmen Copper is committed to support local and national objectives, should the government mandate such proposition. Personally, our objective is for any natural resource coming from our country to benefit the Filipino people, above all else,” Deveraturda enthused.
Additional sources: Mining industry in the Philippines, The Manila Times Online, September 4, 2017; Physical Geology Press Books; Philippine Statistics Authority; Schneider Electric Blog; Copper Development Association www.copper.org; www.philippinemetals.com.
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