Transforming the Mining Industry

This week, mining industry stakeholders will again gather for the annual mining conference, organized by the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP). This year, COMP has come up with the theme “Responsible Mining: Moving Beyond Compliance.”

By giving this name to the regular gathering of miners and allied industry players, the industry is showing its emphasis on responsible mining, and its aim to go above and beyond mining laws and other pertinent environmental regulations. The theme communicates a desire to shift from “business as usual” to a level of commitment that addresses mining-related environmental and socioeconomic issues in a way that anti-mining activists will find difficult to tarnish.

Indeed, Gina Lopez’s brief stint as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary served as a bitter wake-up call to the mining industry. Some miners even claim that the industry’s very survival came under threat with the anti-mining policy pronouncements and orders issued by then Secretary Lopez.

One can only surmise the value of Sen. Ping Lacson’s observation in one of the Commission on Appointment’s hearings regarding the eventual fate of Lopez’s designation in the DENR. The Senator categorically stated that the problem lies in the unilateral changing of the rules when mining companies had supposedly adhered to what are written in the laws. This was a damning comment, but why does it seem that Lopez was the victim environmental crusader of “evil” miners? Why does it seem that the public sees that hers was a noble cause against perceived corporate greed?

Perhaps the source of strength of the anti-mining message is based on the fact that there really are errant mines.

Thus, COMP’s avowed adherence to mining laws is weakened or betrayed by its member and nonmember miners who violate environmental regulations and give critics even more ammunition against the industry.

In addition, legacy issues such as the Marcopper disaster Marinduque, along with the other abandoned mines, continue to haunt the industry.

Despite these flaws, however, there exists a momentum in the rejection of Gina Lopez that must be seized.

For the good miners out there, now is the time to prove to government and the other stakeholders that responsible mining exists, and that COMP, as the industry’s leader, can guarantee that its members practice what they preach. It is only through this scenario will the industry be able to overcome its negative image and all the other consequential challenges, especially those from the anti-mining bloc.

There are a lot of models that seek to define responsible mining through the identification of indicators or guiding principles against which the performance of a mining company or mining operation is measured.

For example, the Mining Association of Canada (MAC) has adopted Aboriginal and Community Outreach, Energy and GHG Emissions Management, Tailings Management, Biodiversity Conservation Management, Safety and Health, Crisis Management and Communications Planning as “assessment protocols” in order for MAC to gauge the adherence of its members to responsible mining. Likewise, the Australian government has laid down the principles of responsible mining as Sustainable Development, Efficiency, Precaution, Accountability and Transparency, Polluter Responsibility, Community Consultation and Involvement, and Equity and Equality.

Another way to move towards responsible mining is by adopting the “endpoint perspective” espoused by Dr. Carlo A. Arcilla of the University of the Philippines’ National Institute of Geological Sciences.

For Dr. Arcilla, the assessment of mining projects should not be limited to their net present value, but should primarily consider the end of mine life or post-closure.

According to him, such an approach will allow the proponents to visualize proactive methods to address inevitable issues, such as tailings disposal, mine rehabilitation, and the sustainability of the host and surrounding communities, as mining operations wind down. His views are encapsulated in a recent study published by the Stratbase ADR Institute, entitled “Mining in the Philippines: Problems and Suggested Solutions.”

In any case, all members of COMP must be required to undergo the responsible mining assessment using the indicators or principles to be established. This compulsory arrangement would be similar to that of MAC’s Towards Responsible Mining (TSM) program. Certification mechanisms should also be devised to reward those exhibiting excellent performance as well as to assist those striving to meet the standards, much like that of the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance’s (IRMA) prospective “Certified” and “Candidate” statuses.

The abovementioned endeavor will signal a transition into a self-regulating mining industry, which monitors its members compliance with legal, ethical, environmental and safety standards under the tutelage of COMP.

Certainly, the ability to vouch for a mine’s practice of responsible mining is a testament that mining is not bad per se and that it can be done properly in the Philippine setting. More importantly, the undertaking will naturally discriminate illegal and noncompliant operations from responsible ones, and perhaps, this can even pave the way for COMP and the anti-mining groups to have a common objective in cracking down on these delinquent miners.

Call that transformation.

Victor Andres “Dindo” C. Manhit is the founder and managing director of the Stratbase Group and president of its policy think tank, Albert del Rosario Institute for Strategic and International Studies (ADRi). Prof. Manhit is a former chair and retired associate professor of Political Science of De La Salle University. He has authored numerous papers on governance, political, and electoral reforms.