Water bottle caused mining incident

How lowly water bottle caused big mining incident

By Gil C. Cabacungan Jr. Philippine Daily Inquirer June 4, 2006

http://news.inq7.net/archive_article/index.php?ver=0&index=1&story_id=78013

WHO would have thought an insignificant water bottle would cause the most talked-about mining incident in the post-Mining Act era?

Based on the report of the Rapu-Rapu Fact-Finding Commission led by Sorsogon Bishop Arturo Bastes, “an empty bottle of mineral water was found sucked by the main pump believed to be the cause of its malfunction.”

With the main pump down and the second pump under repair—after malfunctioning several times prior to the incident—there was no other backup pump available. This led to the overflow of the tailings pond into Rapu-Rapu island’s water system, which led to a fish kill and loss of the residents’ main source of livelihood.

Rapu-Rapu commission vice chair Charlie Avila told the Inquirer that the water bottle glaringly showed the ineptitude and laxity of Lafayette Mining Ltd.’s management team on the island.

Inexplicable, inexcusable

“It (the water bottle) should have been in a trash can but somehow, it found its way into the pumping system. That is inexplicable and inexcusable, it should have not happened had management been more responsible of its role in protecting the environment,” Avila said.

In an interview, spokesperson Bayani Agabin admitted that the previous management was not that “concerned,” which was why the water bottle found its way into the main pump.

But Agabin said the water bottle should not be blamed for setting off the chain reaction that led to the mine spill because it was only one of several factors that contributed to the pond overflow.

In a forum sponsored by the Philippine Mine Safety and Environment Association (PMSEA) last Tuesday, Lafayette officials conceded that management should have been more “hands-on” in running the polymetal mine. They said this was the reason the Australian firm replaced the foreigners in the team with Filipino executives to ensure that critical management would always be on-site and that they would be more dedicated in their jobs.

PMSEA treasurer Patrick Caoile said the forum was significant because it was one of the few times the Bastes commission and Lafayette attended a neutral forum to clear the issues on Rapu-Rapu that had brought the entire mining industry under harsh criticism.

The forum moderator, Ennoble Management Consulting Corp. director Blaine N. Lee, said it would be a “miracle” if the two groups reached an understanding and moved on after the incident.

During the forum, Avila clarified that the Bastes commission report should not be seen as an antimining paper as perceived in some media reports.

Moratorium
Avila said the commission recommended a moratorium and not a ban on mining on Rapu-Rapu island until all the safety precautions had been taken. He said the commission also did not call for a repeal of the Mining Act which allows foreign investors to take a controlling stake in major exploration ventures.