The Case Against Mining

     It’s no secret that the Philippines is extremely rich when it comes to natural resources. Our land is littered with minerals such as nickel, coal, gypsum, sulfur, silver. Sound good? Well, our country also has the fifth largest stock of gold and copper in the whole world. In fact, according to the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), the Philippines have a total of 840 billion US dollars worth of untouched minerals.

            I know what you’re thinking. If we’re so rich, why, then, is our country correctly  perceived as one of the poorest third world countries in the globe?

            Well, technically, as stated before, we are rich in natural resources. But some people have a problem with mining. It is extremely dangerous, and while most of our wealth could be uncovered by mining, many people have declared that mining won’t do anything to help our economy –– in fact, the Philippines may be better off without it.

            Considering we have one of the world’s biggest gold and copper reserves, the Philippines doesn’t have much trouble attracting foreign investors and mining corporations. Uno problemo is, mining exposes risk not only to the environment but also to the community –– proof would be the countless accidents that have happened because of perilous mining operations.

            Take, for example, the Philex Mining in Libay. Rice fields and houses, among other things, were destroyed by the mud slides between 1999 and 2002. The mud spread 200 meters out to sea, causing the demise of fish, shellfish, mangroves, and corals. Mercury levels were about 400 times higher than usual. Needless to say, people were afraid to buy fish, affecting the fishery commerce. 70 percent of Filipinos’ count on fishing and agriculture for survival.

            Miners as subjected to numerous health vulnerabilities, as they are exposed to: dust; vibration, which can cause permanent damage to bones. Gangrene in the hands and fingers can be caused by the vibration syndrome, also known as ‘dead finger’ syndrome. Vibration may also trigger problems with the digestive system because of the continuous shaking of the internal organs; extreme heat, and considering sources of hydration may be limited when in the process of mining, this can lead to severe dehydration; inhalation of fumes produced by machineries used; absorption of manganese, lead, cadmium, and other noxious materials. They also have limited exposure to air and are susceptible to repetitive stress injury (RSI), back pains due to manual lifting, and hearing impairment caused by noise and/or other hazardous sounds.

            Sodium cyanide is used to leech gold from ores. Cyanide is an extremely poisonous salt of hydrocyanic acid and it blocks the movement from the blood to the body tissues. This is also fatal. Mercury, another toxic element, is also used frequently to generate gold-amalgam.

            People also lose their homes and their lands because of mining. Said Aquino Q. Pimentel Jr. regarding the indigenous peoples being removed from their homes due to mining:

“Also since the Marcos years, I have denounced and will continue to denounce the use of force - how mainly through the civilian paramilitary units - to compel tribal groups that oppose the entry into their ancestral domains of mining and logging interests without engaging them in honest to goodness consultations. No country claiming to be democratic should allow that to happen within its territory.”

            All these predicaments related to mining can make a person wonder if it can truly be helpful to our economy. In his World Bank Extractive Industries Review (2004), Dr. Emil Salim of the UK Financial Times said:

“Not only have the oil, gas and mining industries not helped the poorest people in developing countries, they have often made them worse off. Scores of recent academic studies and many of the bank's own studies confirmed our findings that countries which rely primarily on extractive industries tend to have higher levels of poverty, child morbidity and mortality, civil war, corruption and totalitarianism than those with more diversified economies.”

            So . . . how can mining help our flailing economy if it 1) expose workers to fatalities 2) pollute rivers near their sites 3) damage mangroves 4) obliterate coral reefs and, to top it all of, 5) forcibly throw out locals from mining sites (which, by the way, is a total violation of human rights)?

            It doesn’t. We can attribute this to the fact that whatever cash we get out of foreign investors and mining companies drilling holes in our ground goes straight into our “leaders’” pockets, leaving none for the starving, suffering Filipino.

References:

·         MINING IN THE PHILIPPINES: BANE OR BOON. 2011. MINING IN THE PHILIPPINES: BANE OR BOON. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.nenepimentel.org/speeches/20071126_Mining.asp. [Accessed 27 May 2011]

·         Philippines . 2011. Philippines . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2794.htm. [Accessed 27 May 2011]

·         Mining in the Philippines and the effects on Occupational Health and Safety of Mine Workers* | IOHSAD. 2011. Mining in the Philippines and the effects on Occupational Health and Safety of Mine Workers* | IOHSAD. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.iohsad.org/11/06/mining/mining-philippines-and-effects-occupational-health-and-safety-mine-workers*. [Accessed 27 May 2011]

·         Mining in the Philippines - Concerns and Conflicts. 2011. . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.envirosecurity.org/sustainability/presentations/Wicks.pdf. [Accessed 27 May 2011]