INALIS na ng Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) ang four-year-old ban sa open-pit mining.
Ang naturang polisiya ay ipinatupad ni yumaong Environment Secretary Gina Lopez noong 2017.
Sa DENR Administrative Order No. 2021-40 na inisyu noong Disyembre 23, pinawalang-bisa ni Secretary Roy Cimatu ang Administrative Order No. 2017-10 ng kanyang predecessor na nagbabawal sa mining method para sa pagkuha ng copper, gold, silver, at/o complex ores sa bansa.
Sinabi ni Cimatu na, “lifting the ban on open-pit mining would revitalize the mining industry and usher in significant economic benefits to the country by providing raw materials for the construction and development of other industries and by increasing employment opportunities in rural areas where there are mining activities thereby stimulating countryside development.”
Aniya, ang open-pit mining method ay isang pamamaraan ng pagmimina na tinatanggap sa mundo, na itinuturing na “most feasible option for mining near-surface or shallow ore deposits.”
Ani Cimatu, hindi lahat ng open-pit mines ay nagpoprodyus ng acid rock drainage contaminants.
May best-practice control strategies at technologies, aniya, na makatutulong para maiwasan ang mga negatibong epekto ng open-pit mining.
Bukod dito, may mga umiiral ding batas na nagtatakda ng mga lugar kung saan hindi maaaring payagan ang pagmimina.
“Major issues concerning mining including open-pit mining cannot be attributed to the use of the method itself, but rather on the accidents involving wastes and tailings confinement,” sabi pa ni Cimatu.
“Progressive rehabilitation of mined out areas is now being practice to restore vegetative cover and reduce adverse impacts on the environment.”
Dagdag pa ni Camatu, ang patuloy na pagbabawal sa open-pit mining ay maaaring magresulta sa pagkawala ng oportunidad sa ekonomiya.
Epektibo ang kautusan 15 araw makaraang malathala sa pahayagan na may general circulation.
