CAGDIANAO, Claver, Surigao del Norte (MindaNews/11 May) – Mamanwas vowed to continue barricading the mining site of Shen Zhou Mining Group Corporation here until the company shuts down and leaves port. Vilma Coter, a Mamanwa representative told MindaNews on the same day that they won’t budge despite the reported payment of royalty fees on Thursday [...]

BALABAG, Bayog, Zamboanga del Sur (MindaNews/15 April) — The Municipal Peace and Order Council (MPOC) on Friday passed an “urgent” resolution asking the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board (PMRB) to immediately resolve the conflict between a large-scale mining firm and a small-scale mining group to avoid  a potentially bloody confrontation in this gold-rich area. FORBIDDEN. TVI [...]

KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/10 April) — Diocese of Marbel Bishop Dinualdo D. Gutierrez marked the 50th year of his priestly ministry yesterday with a late afternoon thanksgiving mass where hundreds of parishioners offered prayers for the protection of the environment from the impact of large-scale mining in the area. For 30 years now, Gutierrez has been [...]

MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/28 March) – Malaybalay Bishop Jose A. Cabantan has backed the calls against mining in San Fernando town in the heels of protests made by the kin and supporters of a slain barangay chairman there. “The rivers there will be the next Iponan River in the future. It’s always colored chocolate plus the [...]

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews/27 March) – More than two months after he reprimanded them, Archbishop Antonio Ledesma said today his appeal to put an end on destructive hydraulic mining along Iponan River has fallen into deaf ears among city officials led by Mayor Vicente Emano. Ledesma, prelate of the Cagayan de Oro Archdiocese, said [...]

MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/22 March) – The Bukidnon Sangguniang Panlalawigan has passed a resolution urging an immediate stop to all illegal mining operations in the province in the wake of violence that rocked a barangay in San Fernando town recently. The resolution, passed in a special session last week, cited the situation in Barangay Dao, San [...]

MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/22 March) – Small-scale miners operating in Pantukan, Compostela Valley today said they will not give up the area to large-scale mining interests. In a statement issued at the end of its 4-day camp-out today along the town’s national highway, the Federation of Small Scale Miners of Compostela Valley (FSSMCV) vowed to resist [...]

KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/19 March) – Foreign-backed Sagittarius Mines, Inc. has yet to firm up its relocation plan to those that will be dislodged by its Tampakan copper-gold project, a project partner admitted on Monday. “The current work program at Tampakan continues to focus… on reaching agreement with the community and [national and local] governments on [...]

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/22 Jan) –  The Ateneo de Davao University and the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines are hosting a two-day international conference on mining in Mindanao on January 26 and 27. The conference  will focus on business and economics of mining, environmental  impacts, human rights, international standards and state of play in the [...]

KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/16 January) —The Diocese of Marbel has intensified the campaign for the declaration of the mountains in Tampakan, South Cotabato as a protected area, which would effectively ban all forms of mining activities there. Tampakan Vice Mayor Relly Leysa said on Monday that Diocese of Marbel Bishop Dinualdo Gutierrez asked him Sunday to [...]

MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/14 January) — The Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE) lauded the decision of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources denying the application of Sagittarius Mines Inc. for an environmental compliance certificate for its planned $5.9 billion mining project that straddles three provinces of Mindanao. In a statement today, Kalikasan-PNE [...]

KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/18 December) — Village officials in two South Cotabato towns were instructed to intensify their monitoring activities in a bid to lick the destructive sluice mining, locally called “banlas,” and other illegal mining operations. The directive was contained in Executive Order 28 recently issued by South Cotabato Gov. Arthur Y. Pingoy, Jr., which [...]

KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/15 December) — Three Mindanao bishops in the areas where the Tampakan copper-gold project of the Sagittarius Mines, Inc. reiterated in their joint statement Wednesday that they cannot support the project. “As pastors of the flock, (we) are deeply troubled and concerned on the irreversible damage to the environment particularly to the biodiversity [...]

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/14 December) — On the same day that it effectively gave the green light for the controversial coal-fired power plant project of Aboitiz Power Corp., the city council made the initial step toward declaring Davao as a mining-free city. During the regular session on Monday, Councilors Victorio U. Advincula Jr. and Paolo Z. [...]

MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/13 December) — The Mines and Geosciences Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources -10 today served a cease and desist order issued earlier against illegal mining operators in Gango, Libona, Bukidnon, a bureau official told MindaNews. Engr. Daniel Belderol, officer in charge of the MGB mine management division said via [...]

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/12December)—At least 100,000 signatures gathered in three Mindanao dioceses against the Tampakan copper-gold project will be submitted to Malacanang to persuade President Benigno S. Aquino III to issue a directive stopping the foreign-backed Sagittarius Mines Inc. from proceeding, an official said Saturday. Rene Pamplona, advocacy officer of the Diocese of Marbel’s Social [...]

KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/30 October)  –  The Mines and Geosciences Bureau has given its nod to Sagittarius Mines, Inc. and a mining firm in Misamis Oriental to resume exploration activities. The two firms in Mindanao were part of 10  nationwide whose applications to resume exploration activities were approved recently by Leo Jasareno, MGB acting national director. [...]

MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/15 Sept) – Small-scale gold miners in at least 58 hectares in the municipality of Libona in Bukidnon being financed by foreigners are operating illegally and using mercury and cyanide, an environment official said. Samuel Cadavos, chief of the Bukidnon Environment and Natural Resources Office (BENRO), warned members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan that [...]

MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/1 September) – The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Northern Mindanao 10 (DENR-10) has ordered a stop of the illegal small scale gold mining operations in Dao, San Fernando, Bukidnon Rodante Felina, officer in charge of the MGB mine management division, said the MGB [...]

ORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/24 August) – Mercury contamination in the Pulabato River, which straddles the mines development site of foreign-backed Sagittarius Mines, Inc. (SMI), has reached 1.7 microgram per liter (mc/L) or 340 times beyond the maximum limit for the protection of public health. Eileen Estrada, environment officer for Tampakan town in South Cotabato, confirmed on [...]

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/22 June) – Foreign-backed Sagittarius Mines, Inc. has started recently a new round of stakeholder consultation to run for three months in a bid to win public support for the controversial Tampakan copper-gold project, it was learned on Wednesday. The company’s move immediately caught critics on guard, with a local Catholic Church [...]

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/25 May) – An Australian mining company having an interest in the Tampakan copper-gold project expressed frustration Wednesday on the failure of the national government to resolve the open-pit mining ban imposed by the provincial government of South Cotabato. Brian Phillips, Indophil Resources NL chairman, viewed the failure of the national government [...]

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/16 May) – The provincial government of South Cotabato has permanently closed down at least five small-scale mine tunnels located at a gold rush area in T’boli town due to safety concerns. South Cotabato Gov. Arthur Pingoy Jr. said Monday they issued a permanent closure order on the gold mining tunnels at [...]

MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/8 May)– The Bukidnon provincial board renewed pronouncements it is opposed to large-scale mining, even mining explorations, with a resolution passed on May 4 for its “unwavering objection” amid the influx of new large-scale mining applications. “The Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Bukidnon remains steadfast in its statutory responsibility to be in the forefront of [...]

KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/08 April) — Police and Army personnel are now stationed at the small-scale mining site in Barangay Kematu in T’boli, South Cotabato following the stoppage order issued early this week by the provincial government. South Cotabato Governor Arthur Pingoy, Jr. said the provincial government approved the recommendation of the Provincial Mining and Regulatory [...]

KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/28 March) – One of the worst fears expressed years back by the local Catholic Church over the massive Tampakan copper-gold project of foreign-backed Sagittarius Mines, Inc – that of tribesmen taking up firearms in protest of the mining operation and its related activities – may have begun to unfold. Fr. Romeo Catedral, [...]

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/15 March)—At least 19 mining applications in Southwestern Mindanao have been issued denial orders so far  in line with the “use it or lose it” policy of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, as around 35 more mining applications may face the same fate, a senior regional MGB official said on Tuesday. Hernani [...]

KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/23 February) — A tribal chieftain who staunchly supported the Tampakan copper-gold project of foreign-backed Sagittarius Mines, Inc was killed Tuesday night by still unidentified gunmen, prompting the company to temporarily suspend operations in parts of the mines development site due to security concerns. The killing of Tonio Binuhay, tribal chieftain of S’bangken [...]

ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews/11 February) – A group of Subanens in Zamboanga del Norte has expressed opposition to a proposed ordinance filed at the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) that would, among others, ban the use of open pit mining method in the province. The proposed ordinance is titled “Protecting and Conserving the Integrity of the Land and [...]

ILIGAN CITY (MindaNews/05 February) –  The order directing all regional offices of the Mines and Geo-Sciences Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to suspend the “acceptance and processing of new mining applications,”was hailed by representatives of civil society here but quite a number want more than just suspension: they want a [...]

MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/03 January) – Malaybalay Bishop Jose Araneta Cabantan centered his homily on mining and rising criminality in Bukidnon, in a mass held on New Year’s Eve at the San Isidro Cathedral here. “Mining, whether small or large scale, is a threat to the environment,” Cabantan said. Cabantan’s statement contradicted that of Bukidnon Governor [...]

SAN AGUSTIN, Surigao del Sur (MindaNews/02 January) –  ”We can stop them 0nly to a certain degree,” Jorge Madlos, spokesperson of the National Democratic Front (NDF) in Mindanao said of the mining firms operating in resource-rich Mindanao, seven of which reportedly threatened to pull out of the Caraga region due to  revolutionary taxes imposed by [...]

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/10 Dec) – Anti-mining activists opposing a proposed giant mining project in South Cotabato ended their 150-kilometer four-day march cum caravan upon arriving in Digos City in Davao del Sur around 10 a.m. today. This despite alleged harassments and delays when unidentified men threw metal spikes that deflated the tires of four [...]

MALAYBALAY CITY(MindaNews/08 December) — Former Bukidnon congressman Nerius O. Acosta said he prefers to review all small- and large-scale mining contracts in the country once he gets appointed as environment secretary. Acosta told MindaNews Tuesday each project will be reviewed based on his three criteria for projects that affect the environment. He said a project [...]

KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/07 December)—Some 50 militant and environment activists started before noon Tuesday the four-day march protest against foreign-backed Sagittarius Mines Inc, owner of the massive Tampakan copper-gold project. The march-cum-caravan rally, expected to peak to a crowd of at least 1,000 on Friday, will span around 150 kilometers towards Digos City in Davao del [...]

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/06 December) –The widow of a slain anti-mining activist said that if the government could not go after her husband’s killers, she would consider stopping the Tampakan gold-copper mining project enough justice for her husband. ”If the mining operation of Xstrata be stopped, I would consider that the first step in the quest [...]

KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/05 December) — At least 1,000 people are expected to join a grueling four-day march spanning about 150 kilometers to dramatize their opposition to the large-scale mining project of Sagittarius Mines Inc., organizers said Sunday. Organizers said the long walk also aims to pressure the national government into denying the issuance of an [...]

Acting Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse M. Robredo drew flak from local government officials in South Cotabato for ordering the suspension of the implementation of the provincial environment code that bans open pit mining. South Cotabato Gov. Arthur Y. Pingoy Jr. confirmed Tuesday night that Robredo recently issued a memorandum ordering the provincial government to refrain from implementing the code pending its review.

SAN FRANCISCO, Agusan del Sur (MindaNews/15 November) –  “The Church will stand up for and defend the environment if the Department of Environment and Natural Resoruces  (DENR) cannot,” Butuan Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos said Saturday, after officiating at the mass attended by some 2,000 residents from Rosario, San Francisco and Prosperidad towns in Saturday’s [...]

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/08 November)—Mindanao will be short of 1,000 megawatts more, on top of the projected 484-megawatt shortfall in 2014, if the power need of the mining industry is also considered, Vicente Lao, chair of the Mindanao Business Council (MBC) today said. Lao said the Chamber of Mines has projected the power needs of mining [...]

KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/01 November)—The Tampakan copper-gold project that straddles the provinces of South Cotabato and Davao del Sur likely contains more deposits than initially projected, according to a the Mine Project Feasibility Study by foreign-backed Sagittarius Mines Inc. recently made available to media. Previously estimated at of 340,000 tons and 350,000 ounces of copper and [...]

KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/20 October) –  Seven groups, including local business chambers, have organized into the Southern Mindanao Coalition for Sustainable Development (SMC4SD), which aims to promote the trade and investment potentials of the region such as agriculture, tourism and services sector, and mining. “Mining is a potential major investment not just in our region but [...]

KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/04 October) — South Cotabato Vice Governor Elmo B. Tolosa has asked the provincial executive department to exercise “utmost care” in crafting the implementing rules and regulations of the controversial Provincial Environment Code, an ordinance that would greatly affect the operations of foreign-backed Sagittarius Mines Inc. and possibly other mining ventures in the [...]

SURIGAO CITY (MindaNews/27 September)—Fears of possible contamination of the Parang-parang watershed in Barangay Mat-i here have been raised following the recent discovery by the Surigao Metropolitan Water District (SMWD) of 115 illegal gold-mining tunnels within the 967-hectare reserve. Miners usually use toxic chemicals such as mercury, borax and carbon in extracting gold and other minerals. [...]

KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/24 September) – Local officials of South Cotabato still have their hands full trying to stop the illegal extraction of copper ores in the mining area of the foreign-backed Sagittarius Mines Inc. with the arrest Thursday of eight suspects. Gov. Arthur Y. Pingoy Jr. said the operation yielded roughly eight tons of copper [...]

COTABATO CITY (MindaNews/22 Sept) – The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is seeking full control over the exploitation and utilization of strategic minerals found in the region, Regional Executive Secretary Naguib Sinarimbo Tuesday said at the regional peace summit held at the ARMM Complex here. Citing the results of multi-stakeholders consultations conducted earlier, Sinarimbo [...]

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews/16 Sept) — The biggest alliance of environmentalists in the country has chided the Mindanao Business Conference (MinBizCon), which gathers some 500 business leaders of the island starting Friday, for its expressed plan to focus on luring investment in the sectors of agribusiness, mining and energy. In a press conference called [...]

KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/15 Sept) – The municipality of Matanao in Davao del Sur has joined the opposition against the proposed massive mining venture of Sagittarius Mines, Inc. due to environment, livelihood and food security concerns. The Sangguniang Bayan approved a resolution rejecting Sagittarius’s Tampakan mining project, fearing it will jeopardize the Mal River Irrigation System. [...]

SURIGAO CITY (MindaNews/10 September) — A passenger vessel bound for Cebu and said to be loaded with chromite ran aground shortly after it left the port of San Jose in Dinagat Island, Surigao del Norte Tuesday evening. Based on the Coast Guard report, the 730.42-ton M/V Super Shuttle Ferry 7, owned by Asian Marine Transport [...]

KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/9 Sept) – The provincial government of South Cotabato has finally approved the budget for the publication of the controversial environment code that bans open-pit mining. Publication of the 58-page code for three consecutive issues is now up for bidding among local publications, according to Vice Gov. Elmo B. Tolosa, the presiding officer [...]