Huwarang mining firms sa 2021 kinilala ng DENR sa Annual Mine Safety and Environment Conference

MANILA, Philippines- Kinilala ng Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) ang mga huwarang mining firms sa ginanap na 67th Annual National Mine Safety and Environment Conference noong Nobyembre 26 bilang patunay na kayang pagsabayin ang mining activities at environmental protection.

“These awards are not only individual accolades but are actual testimonies that responsible mining is indeed possible and is still alive,” saad ni ni DENR Secretary Roy A. Cimatu sa kanyang keynote speech na binasa ni Undersecretary for Attached Agencies, Mining and Muslim Affairs Jim O. Sampulna.

Ang awarding ceremony ay ginanap sa Seda Vertis North sa Diliman, Quezon City.

Sa press release sa pamamagitan ng Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) ay ipinagkaloob ng DENR ang parangal sa ilang exploration and operating mining firms at indibidwal dahil sa kanilang kapuri-puring inisyatiba at achievements para sa environmental management and development, community safety and support, workforce protection, at pangangalaga sa socially responsible mining operations kahit na nasa gitna ng kasalukuyang pandemya.

Kaugnay nito pinarangalan nito ang mga tumanggap ng Presidential Mineral Industry Environmental Award (PMIEA), PMIEA Selection Committee (PMIEASC) Platinum and Titanium Achievement Awards, Best Mining Forest Contest, at Safest Mines Awards.

Nabigyan din ng Mines’ Best Personalities award ang outstanding mining workers.

“Truly, the mining industry has not only wholeheartedly taken on the challenge set upon you in 2018, which is to reinvent mining, but has definitely succeeded by providing benefits for greater Filipino citizens, and being compliant with the laws on protection and conservation of the country’s natural resources for the benefit of present and future generations,” sabi ni Cimatu, na siya ring co-chair of the PMIEASC.

Samantala dahil na rin sa mga ipinatutupad na restriksiyon dahil sa pandemya, ang evaluations, deliberations, at offsite validations ay ginawa ng PMIEASC, Mining Forest Program-National Executive Committee (MFP-NEC) at ng kanilang Technical Working Group at Technical Secretariat mula Oktubre 4-27, 2021 mula sa 27 mining and mineral processing companies para sa PMIEA, 30 sa Best Mining Forest Contest, at 34 para sa Safest Mines Awards.

“The offsite validation we conducted also resulted in the most number of awardees. This signifies that responsible mining is more than just a catchphrase or slogan, that it is not something to be practiced only when convenient. Rather, this is something that the mineros take very much to heart,” saad ni DENR-MGB Director Wilfredo G. Moncano.

Base na rin sa Executive Order No. 399, ang PMIEA, na nabuo noong 1997 ay nagbibigay ng parangal sa mining at exploration firms na may “outstanding initiatives and implemented programs on environmental protection and enhancement of mining areas, development of the host and neighboring communities, land use improvement, exploration, and mining site rehabilitation and final decommissioning.”

Kaugnay nito ang siyam na PMIEA awardees ay ang Agata Mining Ventures Inc., Berong Nickel Corp., Hinatuan Mining Corp., Tagana-an, Platinum Group Metals Corp., at Taganito Mining Corp. para sa Surface Mining Operation Category; Republic Cement and Building Materials Inc.-Bulacan para sa Quarry Operation Category; Coral Bay Nickel Corp., Mindanao Mineral Processing & Refining Corp., at Taganito HPAL Nickel Corp. para sa Mineral Processing Category.

Samantala, kinilala rin ang 12 PMIEASC Platinum Achievement awardees at tatlong PMIEASC Titanium Achievement awardees.

Ang mga mining companies na ito ay kinapos sa mga kinakailangang grado para sa PMIEA ngunit nagkaroon naman ng “high degree of performance” para sa safety and health, environmental management, at social development and management.

Para naman sa pagkilala ng excellent performance ng mining contractors, permit holders, at permittees para sa implementasyon ng kanilang Mining Forest Program base na rin sa bisa ng DENR Administrative Order No. 22, series of 1989, ang apat na Best Mining Forest awardees ay ang Hinatuan Mining Corp.-Tagana-an (Metallic Category), Holcim Resources Development Corp. (Non-Metallic Category), Taganito HPAL Nickel Corp. (Mineral Processing Plant Category), at Philex Mining Corp. (Exploration Category). Santi Celario

Huwarang mining firms sa 2021 kinilala ng DENR sa Annual Mine Safety and Environment Conference
Source: Filipino Pinoys