Aussie mining firm coughs up P10M for fine
First posted 05:39am (Mla time) June 24, 2006
Inquirer
http://news.inq7.net/archive_article/index.php?ver=1&index=1&story_id=6394
Editor's Note: Published on page A10 of the June 24, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
LAFAYETTE Philippines announced yesterday it had paid a P10.4-million fine for two mine incidents in October as it completed additional pollution safeguards imposed by the government preparatory to testing its processing facilities and eventually its resumption of operations.
The payment and the new safeguards were ordered by Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes as conditions before the test run, which would involve only water initially to allow the company’s technicians to check the system for leaks and further fine-tuning, Lafayette said in a statement.
Lafayette said its new management under Carlos G. Dominguez had spent about P400 million for these remedial measures since taking over last January to show that the company would operate with the full assurance of environmental and health protection.
Lafayette’s word
Dominguez, who spearheads Lafayette’s bid to regain the public’s trust in the company, had given his word that Lafayette would resume operations only after its systems and facilities pass all tests.
At full operations, the company said it is expected to directly hire 900 people, most of them from the host communities of Albay and Sorsogon.
With new revenues, the company said it would launch a series of projects that will directly benefit these communities, with education, livelihood, and environmental protection as priorities, including P31 million worth of social development projects.
In its decision, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) noted that aside from creating jobs, the project would also pay the government P3 billion in taxes, of which P244 million will go to local governments.
Full remediation
Reyes noted that allowing the project to resume operations would ensure the full remediation and rehabilitation of the mine site after the project is terminated in about seven years.
‘‘An abandoned open pit mine is not an attractive proposition as it will simply cause small miners to descend on the area and they will operate without environmental safeguards and safety measures,’’ said Reyes.
“In this case, the government, and ultimately the Filipino taxpayer, will have to shoulder the considerable cost of remediation and rehabilitation. Allowing Lafayette to resume operations will allow an ECC-consistent mine rehabilitation and decommissioning plan to be implemented,” he added.
Inquirer
http://news.inq7.net/archive_article/index.php?ver=1&index=1&story_id=6394
Editor's Note: Published on page A10 of the June 24, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
LAFAYETTE Philippines announced yesterday it had paid a P10.4-million fine for two mine incidents in October as it completed additional pollution safeguards imposed by the government preparatory to testing its processing facilities and eventually its resumption of operations.
The payment and the new safeguards were ordered by Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes as conditions before the test run, which would involve only water initially to allow the company’s technicians to check the system for leaks and further fine-tuning, Lafayette said in a statement.
Lafayette said its new management under Carlos G. Dominguez had spent about P400 million for these remedial measures since taking over last January to show that the company would operate with the full assurance of environmental and health protection.
Lafayette’s word
Dominguez, who spearheads Lafayette’s bid to regain the public’s trust in the company, had given his word that Lafayette would resume operations only after its systems and facilities pass all tests.
At full operations, the company said it is expected to directly hire 900 people, most of them from the host communities of Albay and Sorsogon.
With new revenues, the company said it would launch a series of projects that will directly benefit these communities, with education, livelihood, and environmental protection as priorities, including P31 million worth of social development projects.
In its decision, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) noted that aside from creating jobs, the project would also pay the government P3 billion in taxes, of which P244 million will go to local governments.
Full remediation
Reyes noted that allowing the project to resume operations would ensure the full remediation and rehabilitation of the mine site after the project is terminated in about seven years.
‘‘An abandoned open pit mine is not an attractive proposition as it will simply cause small miners to descend on the area and they will operate without environmental safeguards and safety measures,’’ said Reyes.
“In this case, the government, and ultimately the Filipino taxpayer, will have to shoulder the considerable cost of remediation and rehabilitation. Allowing Lafayette to resume operations will allow an ECC-consistent mine rehabilitation and decommissioning plan to be implemented,” he added.
posted by lrcluzonblog at
12:27 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home