KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews / 15 August) – Sagittarius Mines, Inc. (SMI), the developer of the controversial Tampakan project, is “collaborating” with authorities to curb the illegal banlas mining operations in its tenement, a company official said Friday.
Joseph Palanca, SMI corporate communications superintendent, gave the assurance in the wake of the recent death of two supposed illegal miners allegedly involved in the highly-destructive banlas or sluice mining.
He said that the mining company has been coordinating with the regional Department of the Environment and Natural Resources and its attached agency, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), “in policing its tenement against illegal miners.”
“It’s really a collaborative effort when you do policing … We collaborate with them (authorities). For example, if they enforce the law inside our tenement, we join them,” he said in mixed English and Filipino.
Palanca, also the president of the miners’ association in Region 12, served as a resource person on mining updates in the area, together with a representative from MGB-Region 12. The forum was attended by media practitioners here.
Aside from law enforcement cooperation, he noted that SMI has also been providing “logistical support to operations aimed at curbing banlas mining, including providing information to authorities about illegal mining activities in their tenement.”
Last Monday afternoon, two men died from drowning in Sitio Campo Kilot, Barangay Pula Bato in Tampakan, South Cotabato after rampaging waters suddenly flowed down the river, a police report said.
Campo Kilot is a known banlas mining hotspot within SMI’s tenement.
The victims were identified as Richard Sumali, 31, married, farmer and a resident of Purok 7, Brgy. Sinapulan, Columbio, Sultan Kudarat, and Junrey Samling, 35, married, farmer and a resident of Purok Kawayan B, Barangay Danlag in Tampakan town.
Banlas or sluice mining, a highly-destructive mining method, involves the pouring of large amounts of water using high-pressure water jets on a mountain’s surface to loosen the soil and rocks and extract the gold ore, and then pan them with mercury.
Jose Sebua, president of the Campo Kilot Farmers Association, told MindaNews that the victims were killed “while conducting banlas mining operations.”
“The victims were doing guerilla-type banlas mining that has become rampant in the area,” he said in an online interview on Tuesday.
Last July 27, another alleged banlas miner was killed, bringing to six the number of individuals killed due to banlas operations in the same area since 2012, Sebua said.
Palanca declined to comment on the incident, saying that Task Force Banlas conducted an investigation on the matter last August 13, and should be the one to report on what really transpired.
He said that SMI is “collaborating” with the DENR-12 initiated investigation, stressing the mining company facilitated the inspection of the area.
The Soccskargen Environmental Enforcement Task Force has been monitoring the illegal mining operations in SMI’s tenement, DENR-12 executive director Felix Alicer Jr earlier said.
Last month, the task force raided a banlas site in Sitio Datal Saub, Barangay Datal Blao in Columbio, Sultan Kudarat. The team confiscated equipment used in the illegal mining operation but no one was arrested.
Columbio and Tampakan towns are both part of the Tampakan project of SMI.
The Tampakan project is the largest known undeveloped copper and gold minefield in Southeast Asia and among the largest of its kind in the world. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)
