Mining in Ancestral Lands of Indigenous Tribes

By Fr Frank Nally SSC

The Philippines is in crisis. The economy is in a mess and tales of corruption taint the credibility of the highest office in the land.

The country owes some $56 billion dollars in foreign debt. The government is looking for ways to ensure that new loans keep coming in to boost the economy. With the World Bank and the mining sector pushing for the revitalisation of the mining industry, a new Mining Law was forged in 1995. This caused widespread dissatisfaction in the general population. Legal action, by a local tribal group and Friends of the Earth, Philippines, against an Australian mining giant, blocked the full implementation of the law which gave 100 per cent ownership to foreign companies even though the Constitution has a 40/60 provision. The Supreme Court ruled on 26th January 2004 that this aspect of the Mining Law was unconstitutional. After a strong campaign was mounted by some influential politicians and the Chamber of Mines, the Court yielded to the pressure and reversed its decision on the 6th of December 2004.

The campaign to persuade the Supreme Court to change its initial ruling made sweeping statements about the extent of the unexplored mineral wealth of the Philippines. This potential bonanza was valued at $1 trillion -- enough to pay off the debt entirely. However, the government did not have the money to exploit the minerals and so needed to lure foreign investment into the ailing industry. Twenty three priority projects, estimated to be worth $92 billion annually, are being pushed. But already there is a sour note as one of the projects controlled by TVI Pacific, a Canadian Mining company, which is under scrutiny by the

Canadian Government, has dislocated a tribal Subaanen group in Dipolog, north-western Mindanao and is being accused of polluting a local stream.

Not too far away on the other side of the mountains is the Columban parish of St Joseph’s, Midsalip. They are worried as there are rumours that mining is again coming to their area. In the mid 90s the parish with the help of the diocese and friends overseas, was able to persuade the Anglo-Australian giant, Rio Tinto, to withdraw from their concession of 600,000 hectares.

Mining removes and processes millions of tons of mineralised material (often low grade) and

creates vast amounts of waste. This latter often contains lethal chemicals used in the extraction process, such as mercury and cyanide. The waste is kept in tailing ponds which often become unstable due to earthquakes and harsh weather conditions, leading to destructive spillage. Sometimes companies secretly let the full tailing pond flow into local streams and rivers causing the death of farm animals, fish and even people. While modern mining tries to mitigate these negative impacts, mining companies operating in the Philippines have had a particularly poor record in the past.

Local communities, whose livelihood depends on farming and fishing, have suffered as crop yields decreased and the local environment became contaminated by silt and poison. Children ended up with high levels of mercury and cyanide in their bodies. Mining has been allowed in areas of great biological diversity, in watershed areas, or in areas unsuitable for mining. Even now the Philippines is considering dumping millions of tons of mining waste in the sea. Submarine Tailings Disposal (STD) has long been banned in the west.

Foreign mining companies. while they may bring in large amounts of money to the Philippines in direct investment, are getting huge tax breaks, are allowed to reclaim back all their expenses over many years before they are liable for local taxes, and can repatriate all their profits.