The mining industry is important to a country's economic development being a source of raw materials necessary for industrialization. With its abundant mineral resources, the Philippines has a vast potential to industrialize. This has yet to be realized due to the current economic thrusts of the government and the conditions in which the mining industry is being situated in our economy.
 
The Philippines is rich with mineral resources. We are among the world's top producers of copper, nickel, chrome, zinc, gold and silver. We have about 7.1 billion metric tons (BMT) of metallic deposits and 51 BMT of non-metallic deposits. As the government claims, the country's mineral wealth, valued to be from $840 billion to $1 trillion, is about ten times our GDP and 14-17 times our external debt. If judiciously used, these rich mineral resources can be geared to supply the basic needs of our nation to address the economy's backward, agrarian and pre-industrial state.
 
Copper is a good conductor of electricity and is used in electrical generators and motors, wiring, and in electronic goods. It also conducts heat well, so it is used in motor vehicle radiators, air-conditioners and home heating systems. It does not corrode easily and is malleable. Nickel is used to make stainless and heat-resisting steels for consumer and industrial applications. Think of your kitchen sink, cutlery, pots and pans, and appliances. There is a good chance that they are made of nickel-bearing stainless steel. Its corrosion resistance and high strength over a wide range of temperatures make nickel a natural choice for a growing list of applications as well as its use in rechargeable batteries.
 
Chromium is used to harden and manufacture stainless steel and other useful alloys. It is used in electroplating to produce a hard, beautiful surface to prevent corrosion. Gold, as well as silver, has traditionally been used in jewellery but it is used as coatings and electrical contacts in industry.
 
Mining activity in the Philippines can be classified into large- and small-scale mining. Although both have significant contributions to our nation's economy, large scale mining companies, particularly those with foreign equities, dominate the mining industry . Their dominance can partly be attributed to the capital-intensive and high-risk nature of large scale mining, which, at this point, only the above-mentioned companies outside the national government have the capacity to venture into.
 
Our current mineral production is export-oriented and not geared towards the needs of local industry. We extract minerals and export them with little or no processing mainly to answer the international demand, and not for our local needs and consumption. Yet as we export our cheap mineral ores and concentrates, we are importing high-value mineral products which lead to trade deficits. Although mineral exports have brought in dollar earnings, the industry remains overly dependent on the international market, where the prices of minerals are always fluctuating.
 
Mining in the Philippines remains essentially in the extractive stage. Capacity in smelting, refining and fabrication is very limited, characteristic of an industry that is not fully integrated and with no linkages with the manufacturing sector. Even decades after the influx of foreign mining capital, our mining industry was still mostly limited to exploration and extraction. The current industry still mainly employs relatively outdated technologies.
 
The export-oriented production of the industry leads to the extraction of voluminous minerals from our lands just to earn large profits for mining companies and their local partners. The negative impacts of this rapid extraction to the people and to the environment is often the least considered, if not sweepingly neglected.
 
Mining has been part of the historical development of societies. In the experience of industrialized nations, a prosperous mining industry is needed to supply the mineral demands of local industries and provide the basic needs of the people. Essential to achieve this is the nationalization of the mineral industry. Mining as a basic industry should be controlled by the state for the Filipino people unlike now where it is dominated and controlled by foreign corporations.
 
An integrated mining industry with well-developed extraction and downstream industries will enable us to independently produce the machinery, tools and consumers goods we need, to generate jobs for the people, as well as products for domestic use and international trading. In such a setting, our mineral production will be primarily driven not by the international market but by our nation's actual needs and demands.
 

The Philippines harbors among the world's richest deposits of copper, nickel, chrome, zinc, gold and silver. However, these mineral resources are rapidly being depleted due to large-scale extraction by foreign corporations. This has left our ecology devastated and our citizens robbed of their livelihoods and future.
 
This unfolding tragedy should not be the case with mining. We believe that mining and a developed minerals industry plays a significant role in the attainment of a progressive, independent and self-reliant economy. It should be developed to support a self-reliant and progressive domestic economy that seeks a healthy balance between agriculture and industrialization to break the cycle of underdevelopment.
 
But the Philippine local mining industry remains an export-oriented and import-dependent industry. It caters not to domestic needs but to the demand of the international market for minerals as raw materials. It is mainly extractive with no plans to add substantial value through downstream processing, lacking integration with other basic indutrial needs of our country. These are the reasons why our people don't receive the maximum benefits from the mining industry despite the high level of mineral production in our country. Instead, only a few foreign transnational firms and a handful of the local elite dominate the industry and reap its benefits.
 
In response to this situation, the Defend Patrimony alliance, composed of environmental advocates, scientists, Church people, national minority groups and other sectors have developed a framework document to reorient the Philippine mining industry towards the road to genuine national industrialization and development. Entitled the People's Mining Policy, this document is continually being circulated for education and consultation among different societal sectors. Among its main principles are:
 
A nationalized mineral industry plays an essential role in establishing a progressive, independent and self-reliant economy.
 
With a reliable base of minerals vital to industrialization, the Philippines can achieve genuine development by wisely utilizing these resources as part of an alternative program for development. Foreign mining investments must be rigorously screened and strictly regulated. Capital accumulation and reinvestment within the country must be encouraged over profit repatriation by foreign companies. Building local downstream industries to process our mineral resources should also be prioritized to provide products that we can use to build further other domestic industries.
 
Mineral production and development should help in modernizing agriculture within the framework of genuine agrarian reform.
 
The mining industry should enhance the nation's capacity to achieve food security and self-sufficiency. The right quantities of minerals should be supplied in order to ensure the production of farm machineries, tools and infrastructure materials needed to increase efficiency in farming as well as reduce the strain on human labor. Prime agricultural lands and areas specified for food production must not be classified as mineral lands. Off-site effects of mining must not have disadvantageous effects on downstream areas.
 
Mining development shall be programmed in accordance with the availability of resources, without sacrificing the capability and well being of the people.
 
The level of mineral extraction and production should be based on the level of industrialization we wish to achieve, the needs of the agriculture sector, and the production of consumer goods. It should also consider the level of our technological development, the availability of mineral reserves and its impact on the environment.
 
Mining operations should be done only after democratic consultation and with the consent of the people in mining-affected communities and other stakeholders. The rights of indigenous peoples to self determination and ancestral domain must be recognized. Job security, living wages, working benefits, and favorable and safe working condition for mine workers must always be ensured for both state and privately-owned mining corporations.
 
Role of research and development in advancing the mining industry
 
Research and development must focus on harnessing a more economically efficient and less environmentally destructive minerals industry. Advanced technologies from other countries that are proven to be appropriate to local conditions may be adopted. Recycling programs and substitution in the use of minerals must be incorporated in the overall plan of mining development. Reduction of mine waste and pollution, and mining rehabilitation techniques must be among the focal points of research.
 
Mining operations and development must at all times guarantee environmental protection and safety
 
Mining will be done only after undergoing careful analysis and evaluation as to whether it is the best option for an area. At all stages of mining, environmental protection and development shall be guaranteed. Mining in high environmentally critical areas such as small island ecosystems, primary forests and watersheds shall be banned. The dumping of mine wastes and tailings in rivers, lakes and seas must be prohibited. ###
 
 

Like many similar incidents in the past, the melamine poisoning scandal is just a symptom of a global food system characterised by corporate greed and government neglect.
 

The government tries to show it is addressing the problem by parading to the media hurriedly confiscated milk products while it downplays the dangers by echoing the corporate line that humans will have to ingest unrealistically huge volumes of contaminated milk to be poisoned.
Just as quickly, Nestle and other companies put out expensive ads proclaiming that their products are safe, even without undergoing the appropriate tests. These short-sighted and self-serving knee-jerk reactions do not protect the health of consumers but perpetuate the pathetic state of affairs as far as food safety is concerned.
 

Food safety has never been a serious concern of governments and corporations, particularly with the advent of globalization. Under the World Trade Organization rules, countries, especially weaker ones, could be forced to import food products that could be contaminated with toxic chemicals or substances. Any attempt to ban or restrict such harmful substances, even when these are already banned in other countries, is met with fierce resistance by corporate giants and their host countries. Such is the case, for example, for pesticides, artificial sweeteners and additives, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and now melamine.
 

Melamine is a synthetic chemical used in a wide range of products such as kitchen dishes and utensils, furniture, cleaning agents, glues, fertilizers, and drugs. It is a byproduct of cyromazine, a triazine pesticide commonly used in vegetable and chicken farms. In 1987, it was shown to be present in coffee, orange juice, fermented milk and lemon juice, leaching from cups made of melamine resin. From 1979 to1987, there was widespread melamine contamination of fish and meat meal in Italy and in 2004, there was a nephrotoxicity (kidney damage) outbreak in pets in Asia. Thousands of cats and dogs, mostly in the US, became seriously ill or died of acute renal failure after eating melamine contaminated pet food in 2007. Hogs, chicken and fish were also found to be similarly contaminated.
 

Cyanuric acid is a common disinfectant used in swimming pools together with chlorine. It is used as an ingredient in herbicides and in the production of melamine and sponge rubber. It is also an intermediate chemical in the bacterial degradation of melamine and in bleach and whitening agents production. Trichloromelamine is the chlorinated form of melamine mainly used as a disinfectant and cleaning agent.
 
Melamine may cause adverse reproductive effects, may affect genetic material and may cause bladder cancer, based on animal data. It may also cause skin, eye and respiratory tract irritation and irritation of the digestive tract with nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, and may damage the urinary system. However, cyanuric acid and trichloromelamine have greater toxicity potential in causing kidney damage, developmental toxicity and cancer.
 

By themselves, based on standard risk assessments, melamine and cyanuric acid are considered to be of low acute toxicity. However, multiple sources and multiple chemical exposures is the more likely exposure situation from these chemicals and should be the basis for assessing risks to human health. Other compounds, such as herbicides structurally and toxicologically similar to these compounds, must also be considered.
 

Much can already be said about the potential harm these chemicals pose to animals and humans. The mechanism of renal toxicity of melamine and cyanuric acid is well established and that acute or chronic exposure could lead to renal failure. Existing empirical and scientific data indicate that it is likely at present circumstances to reach exposure levels sufficient to cause harm. The European Food Safety Authority, despite conservative risk assessment methodologies, said: “in worst case scenarios with the highest level of contamination, children with high daily consumption of milk toffee, chocolate or biscuits containing high levels of milk powder would exceed the TDI (tolerable daily intake)”. This does not even consider cyanuric acid in swimming pools, melamine from pesticides and contaminated vegetables, fish and meat, and leachate from kitchen wares. With milk products from China already banned in Europe at the time of the assessment, the said worst case scenario did not even consider potential sources from milk and ice cream!
 

The extent of harm that melamine and related compounds have caused is not clear at this time but simply confiscating products will not solve the problem. Government officials should not downplay the dangers of contamined with toxic chemicals. Mechanisms for appropriate monitoring and timely intervention should be established. Food safety should be placed high in the political agenda and greed, corporate and otherwise, eliminated. Safe food should be put in the hands of the people!###
 

The announcement of the ongoing test operations of the Rapu-Rapu mine in Albay prior to its planned reopening next week makes us revisit the findings of the Rapu-Rapu Fact Finding Commission (RRFFC) on the mine spills that occurred nearly three years to this date. The mine is now under the majority control of Korean Resources, Incorporated (KORES) and LG International Corporation together with the Malaysia Smelting Corp Bhd. The Rapu-Rapu mine was briefly reopened after the mine spill on February 2007 but was again closed after typhoon damage in late 2007.
 
A major issue raised by the RRFFC is the ability to control acid mine drainage (AMD) in the mine. Acid mine drainage is outflow of acidic water from rocks and overburden as part of the rock weathering process. The weathering process is exacerbated by large-scale earth disturbances from mining activities exposing rocks to oxygen and it usually occurs within rocks containing an abundance of metal sulfides. AMD can also be accelerated by colonies of bacteria that occur naturally in such conditions. In his introduction to the commission's report, the vice-chairman of the RRFFC Charles Avila noted that AMD is tantamount to “mining's multibillion-dollar environmental time bomb”.
 
The RRFFC pointed out that the subaquaeous deposition which the previous company has adopted has been proven successful in large mines in flat terrain but is not generally used in hilly terrains such as the steep slope found in Rapu-Rapu. They further pointed out that in a hilly terrain, the slope and rapid flow of fluids are too great to achieve stagnant oxygen-free conditions. As such, subaquaeous deposition may be counterproductive and actually enhance the production and leaching of acid products.
 
The RRFFC also found fault and inadequacy with the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and the Environmental Compliance Certifcate (ECC) of the previous mine operator Lafayette Philippines Incorporated (LPI). They also pointed that LPI failed to answer apprehensions relating to AMD, its effects on the Rapu-Rapu environment and the people’s health and the natural hazards of mining extremely prone in the small island ecosystem. Furthermore, the comission found that 12 of the 29 conditionalities in the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) were found violated by the LPI Group. Have KORES and the LG Corp. already addressed the problems raised by the RRFFC in the EIS and ECC of LPI?
 
The problem of having an open pit mine in a small island ecosystem is also an important point raised by the RRFFC. The commission said that the tailings incidents in 2005 and their consequences are a result of the LPI failing to consider the characteristics of a small island ecosystem in their environmental hazard prevention and mitigation strategies as well as in their mining design and operations. This failure to address cumulative impacts of an environmentally critical project should have been already a ground for revocation of ECC, the commission pointed out.
 
In addition, the commission also noted the fact that during the lifetime of the Rapu-Rapu mine, the most that the government will get is its share in the MPSA. This is in the form of excise tax that is two percent (2%) both in the case of (a) copper and other metallic products and (b) gold and chromite. But with the tax breaks in the Mining Act of 1995 and the PEZA Law incentives, the Philippines stand to forgo at least 60.8% (or USD 12.45 million) over the expected life of the mine leaving only around P413.5 million collectible in favor of the Philippine government.
 
The polymetallic project’s social acceptability was also raised in the commission's report. In the ECC of the project, issues of the fragile nature of Rapu-Rapu’s island ecosystem, the potential for acid mine drainage (AMD) and the torrential rain weather pattern in the area were raised. Until now, these same objections are still being raised by community organizations such as Sagip-Isla and Umalpas-Ka and concerned environmental organizations opposing the mine.
 
Several of the recommendations of the RRFFC remain unheeded: to set up a fund for the compensation of health victims and rehabilitation of the impacts of mine operations, the cancellation of the PEZA registration and the ECC of the mine, the investigation by the BIR of the Lafayette group and the review of the provisions of the Philippine Mining Act 1995 specifically on the ownership and management of mining firms and operations.
 
With these lessons clearly spelled out in the RRFFC report, it makes us all wonder if the DENR has learned from it or is it wantonly ignoring the report to the detriment of the people of Rapu-Rapu and our country?