The Bigger Picture of Small-Scale Mining

By Rex Menard Cervales

Shanties that sit atop the steep mountains of Mt. Diwalwal, Compostela Valley, have never been
the same since 1983. When locals unearthed gold veins, small-scale mining activities have
sparked health and environmental concerns—the unabated use of the hazardous mercury and
cyanide that were used in to separate gold from the ore, contaminated 86 percent of the area’s
miners (Cruz, 2001). Thirty-six percent of the resident of Diwalwal also had dangerous levels of
mercury in their bodies, as per a research from the University of Philippines and the Philippine
General Hospital.

Thousands have already died due unfair labor practices and disasters. The Naboc River that
flows down Mt. Diwata into Davao River was polluted. Small-scale miners also had underground
conflicts.

On 2006, all mining permits were deemed as cancelled (Philippine Mining Development
Corporation, n.d.). However, the local government claims that the rehabilitation of the mining
village remains as a main concern (Uy, 2018).

At the impoverished coastal province of Camarines Norte, a hazardous, unconventional small-

scale mining practice has also drawn global attention. Through an activity dubbed as
“compressor mining,” locals, including children, climb down shafts or dive into 25-meter-deep
pits with the help of oxygen tubes through a compressor in their mouths.

More than 400 miners work from 40 rafts of wood and bamboo anchored on the bay (PBSO
News Hour, 2014). They process gold with mercury, a toxic metal, risking irreversible health
damage from mercury poisoning.

These realities in the Philippines simply tell us that despite the existing Republic Act No. 7076 or
the “Small-Scale Mining Act of 1991, the legislation or the small-scale mining activity itself,
bears with it large-scale concerns.
Along with the other advocate groups, a pro-business think-tank Philippine Business for
Environmental Stewardship (PBEST) urge the government for amendments the said act. I, on
the other hand, have listed the necessary provisions that the government must have overlooked
and therefore, must consider.

On March 2015, the government aimed to address salient issues on mercury use, term limit and
adherence to regulatory and environmental measures. A multisectoral mining council was also
proposed. However, the provision still lack missing pieces.

On March 2015, the government aimed to address salient issues on mercury use, term limit and
adherence to regulatory and environmental measures. A multisectoral mining council was also
proposed. However, the provision still lack missing pieces.
On environmental protection and health safety

Last 2013, the Philippines has signed the 2013 Minamata Convention on Mercury, the treaty is
yet to be ratified (Human Rights Watch, 2015).

Mercury pollution is very alarming as it can contaminate soil and water. Mercury is released into
the environment through careless handling, improper disposal, direct discharge to rivers, direct
vaporization and many others (Orbeta et al., 2000).

Mercury exposure can cause poor memory, anosmia, abnormal gait and balance, as per the
Department of Health, National Poison Control Information Service and Department of Health,
Environment and Occupational Health.

I mention all of these because despite an order through a revised implementing rules and
regulations (IRR) to ban mercury use and underwater mining, implementation has gone too
lenient—mining and environmental regulations are unenforced.

Moreover, operations not well-grounded on skills and appropriate knowledge make miners
resort to creating tunnels that are unsupported and are prone to caving in, among other
potentially dangerous practices.

crime, prostitution, child labor, labor exploitation, and land occupancy or use conflicts have also
existed along with small-scale mining. Perhaps some are just collateral damages. However,
these should not just be shrugged off easily. The government must be keen into these and do
something to create a concrete framework to provide environmentally protection and health
safety.

On LGU power

The provisions of the law state that there exists a Provincial/City Mining Regulatory Board that is
the implementing agency of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
The Board, among other vital powers and functions, can award contracts to small-scale miners
and settle disputes, conflicts or litigations over conflicting claims.

Since conflicts on land use and occupancy are common and cannot be responded on a whim by
the DENR, it is also great if the local government unit (LGU) will get to exercise its powers fully.

Once, the Supreme Court said that the the LGU’s power over small scale mining contracts in
their areas is not absolute, the Supreme Court. It further said that the enforcement of small-
scale mining law to provincial government is subject to the supervision, control and review of the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

On regulation

The non-payment of taxes, loss of foreign investment, illegal trading and smuggling give us a
glimpse of a bigger picture— the implementation that has gone loose paved a way for illegal
practices to thrive.
A report by Ban Toxics (2010) stated that businessmen finance the mining operations and
machines such as air compressors, blowers, or ball mills to grind ore— which are evidently can
be too costly for plain Filipino small-scale miners. Through these, corporations rake in profits
through illegal practices and unfair labor practices.

The loophole in regulatory has been abused. The growing number of big companies using
small-scale mining permits issued by provincial governors to extract nickel and other metallic
minerals is a clear manifestation of this.

It stirs confusion, however, how they thrive when there are only four such areas in the whole
country, and almost all small-scale miners operate without a license outside such designated
“people’s mining areas” or the “minahang bayan” (United Nations Environment Programme,
2011).

Moreover, reports also show that Chinese corporations have used small-scale mining to
smuggle precious metals.

The discrepancies speak not of the cruelty and injustices but of the lenience and lacking
provisions of the law that allow all of these to thrive. It all boils down the urgent need for better
regulation the will help the industry develop. After all, thinking small isn’t small at all.

References:

● The Price of Gold: Mercury Use and Current Issues Surrounding Artisanal and Small-
Scale Gold Mining in the Philippines (December 2010). Retrieved last March 16, 2019
from http://bantoxics.org/download/The_Price_of_Gold.pdf.
Cruz, N. (2001). We are already being poisoned by mercury. Retrieved last March 16,
2019 from the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Fonbuena, C. (2008). On Shaky Ground. Retrieved last March 16, 2019 from
https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/flashback/2860-on-shaky-ground.
In Philippines, workers toil among hazards in compressor mining (2014). Retrieved last
March 16, 2019 from https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/in-philippines-workers-toil-
among-hazards-in-compressor-mining.
Opiso, Einstine & Aseniero, John Paul & Banda, Marybeth Hope & Tabelin, Carlito.
(2018). Solid-phase partitioning of mercury in artisanal gold mine tailings from selected
key areas in Mindanao, Philippines, and its implications for mercury detoxification.
Waste Management & Research. 36. 0734242X1775353. 10.1177/0734242X17753534.
Mineral Reservations. Philippine Mining Development Corporation. Retrieved last March
16, 2018 from pmdc.gov.ph/site/mineral-reservations/.
Philippines (Mt. Diwalwal) – Cyanide in Artisanal Gold Mining Mercury. Pure Earth
Blacksmith Institute. Retrieved last March 16, 2018 from
https://www.pureearth.org/project/mt-diwalwal/
Tupas, T. (2013). LGU power over small-scale mining limited, says SC. Retrieved last
March 16, 2019 from https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/399321/lgu-power-over-small-scale-
mining-limited-says-sc?utm_expid=.XqNwTug2W6nwDVUSgFJXed.1
Uy, M. (2018). Diwalwal rehab now top priority—Governor Uy. Retrieved last March 16,
2019 from https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1009052.
What … if Something Went Wrong? (2015). Human Rights Watch. Retrieved last March
16, 2019 from https://www.hrw.org/report/2015/09/29/what-if-something-went-
wrong/hazardous-child-labor-small-scale-gold-mining.
United Nations Environment Programme (9 December, 2011). Global Forum on
Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining. Retrieved last March 16, 2019 from
http://www.unep.org/hazardoussubstances/Portals/9/Mercury/Documents/ASGM/Report
%20on%20global%20forum/Global%20forum%20on%20artisanal%20and%20small%20
scale%20gold%20mining.pdf.