Alyansa Tigil Mina Presentation

1. Major tailings
dam disasters
in the
Philippines

2. TVI
PACIFIC
INC
April
6
and
July
11,
2007
Siocon,
Zambonga
del
Norte
Heavy
rains
washed
out
the
clay
soil
and
destructed
the
concrete
wall
of
the
sulphide
dam
used
for
the
extrac7on
of
copper
and
zinc.
IMPACTS:
Contaminated
water,
where
cyanide
and
mercury
is
detectable,
flows
to
the
Canatuan
River
down
to
Siocon
River
and
towards
the
sea.
Two
days
aFer
the
collapse,
it
has
been
reported
that
silta7on
has
reached
up
to
3meters
thick.

4. LAFAYETTE
POLYMETALLIC
PROJECT
(LAFAYETTE
MINING
LTD)
October
11
and
31,
2005
Rapu-­‐rapu
Island,
Albay
It
rained
heavily.
Water
eleva7on
at
the
lower
tailings
storage
facility
was
almost
full
due
to
con7nuous
rainfall.
IMPACTS:
In
the
morning
of
November
1,
2005,
fishes
and
other
marine
organisms
were
found
dead
at
Ungay
and
Hollowstone
Creeks
As
per
DENR
inves7ga7on
report:
1.
The
effluent
LafayeVe
to
meet
DENR
Effluent
Standards
per
DENR
Administra7ve
Order
90-­‐35
for
parameter
cyanide;
and
2.
Samplings
conducted
on
4
and
5
Nov.
at
Hollowstone
Creek,
Ungay
Creek
and
Binosawan
River
failed
to
conform
to
conform
to
DENR
Administra7ve
Order
90-­‐35
for
parameter
cyanide.

5. DIZON
COPPER
SILVER
MINES
INC.
(DCSMI)
Heavily-­‐rusted
mine
facili7es
at
the
August
27
and
September
11,
Benguet
Corpora7on-­‐Dizon
Copper/Gold
Mines
(BCD)
in
San
2002
Marcelino,
Zambales.
San
Marcelino,
Zambales
[Photo
courtesy
of
Tetra
Tech
EM
Inc.]
The
Spillway
of
Bayarong
tailings
dam
collapsed
during
heavy
rain;
IMPACTS:
Low
lying
villages
were
flooded
with
mine
waste;
250
families
evacuated;
Some
tailings
spilled
into
Mapanuepe
Lake
and
eventually
into
the
Sto.
Tomas
River;
dams
heavily
damaged
(especially
Camalca)
Communi7es
residing
In
Dizon
mine
road.

6. SIPALAY,
NEGROS
OCCIDENTAL
DISASTERS
In
November
8,
1982
under
MARICALUM
MINING
CORP,
a
tailings
pond
causing
the
Widespread
inunda7on
of
agricultural
land
up
to
1.5m
High
and
the
silta7on
of
the
Tao-­‐angan
River
Again
in
December
8,
1995
Under
PHILEX
MINING
CORP,
Destruc7on
of
tailings
pond
Caused
the
silta7on
of
Sipalay
River.
MARICALUM
MINING
CORP.
December
2001
Since
the
‘temporary’
stoppage
of
opera7ons
no
fresh
tailings
have
been
discharged,
causing
tailings
pond
3
to
dry
up
and
become
prone
to
wind
ac7ons
IMPACTS:
Excessive
levels
of
dust
affect
area
of
5
km;
air
quality
affected;
nearby
residents
report
increases
in
respiratory
illnesses

7. ATLAS
CONSOLIDATED
MINING
AND
DEVELOPMENT
CORP.
(ACMDC)
August
9,
1999
Toledo
City,
Cebu
Outlet
in
drainage
tunnel
of
released approximately 5.7 million m3 of acidic
the
open
pit
(from
closed
water into Sapangdaku and into the open sea
copper
mine)
was
clogged
resul7ng
in
loosening
of
accumulated
silt,
causing
discharge
into
the
Sapangdaku
River
towards
the
sea
IMPACTS:
Silta7on
of
Sapangdaku
River;
Increase
in
acidity
of
affected
water
bodies
causing
fish
kill

8. PLACER,
SURIGAO
DEL
NORTE
DISASTERS
All
under
MANILA
MINING
CORP.
(MMC)
•
July
9,
1987:
Dam
failure
causing
fish
kills
•
September
2,
1995:
Dam
founda7on
failure
at
tailings
pond
5
of
the
Placer
copper-­‐gold
project
killing
5
people
and
coastal
pollu7on
•
April
26,
1999:
Tailings
spill
from
damaged
concrete
pipe
in
tailings
pond
caused
40
homes
to
be
buried
and
40
hectares
of
land
affected
including
20
hectares
of
agricultural
land

9. DISASTERS
IN
SIBUTAD,
ZAMBOANGA
DEL
NORTE
UNDER
PHILEX
GOLD
PHILIPPINES
INC.
(PHILEX
MINING
CORP.)
Two
incidents
of
heavy
rain
resulted
in
mudflow
and
rockslide
into
silt
dam
at
Lalab
(November
6,
1997)
causing
flashfloods
damaged
nearby
houses
and
rice
fields
and
the
overflowing
of
silt
dam
at
the
Sibutad
gold
project
(in
June
27,
1998)
causing
fish
kill
and
blindness.

10. According
to
the
Save
The
Abra
River
Movement,
the
silta7on
and
toxic
pollu7on
of
the
rivers
deprives
communi7es
in
Cervantes
of
about
7.33
million
kg
of
rice
worth
US$2.27
million
per
annum.
BENGUET
DISASTERS
October
17,
1986,
Mankayan,
Benguet
(Lepanto
Consolidated
Mining
Corpora7on):
Collapse
of
tailings
pond
3
due
to
weakened
dam
embankment
caused
by
addi7onal
loading
caused
the
silta7on
of
the
Abra
River
which
affected
9
municipali7es

11. January
1992,
Padcal,
Tuba,
Benguet
(Philex
Mining
Corp.):
Collapse
of
dam
wall
at
tailings
pond
2
due
to
weakened
founda7on
caused
by
the
1990
Northern
Luzon
earthquake
effected
the
heavy
silta7on
affected
downstream
government
irriga7on
system
BENGUET
DISASTERS

12. BENGUET
DISASTERS
June
26,
1993,
Mankayan,
Benguet
(Itogon-­‐Suyoc
Mines
Inc):
Overtopping
at
the
dam
of
the
Itogon-­‐Suyoc
gold
and
silver
mines
occurred
during
a
typhoon
when
the
dam’s
penstock
and
diversion
tunnel
were
blocked
caused
the
silta7on
of
adjoining
river

13. MARINDUQUE
TRAGEDIES

14. THE
WORST
MINING
DISASTER:
MARINDUQUE
EXPERIENCE
FillFille

15. December
6,
1993,
Marinduque
Island
MARCOPPER
MINING
CORP
The
Maguila-­‐Guila
silta7on
dam
collapsed
due
to
pressure
from
heavy
silta7on
at
the
dam
wall
and
caused
the
Mogpog
River
to
be
flooded;
2
children
killed;
livestock
killed;
agricultural
land
contaminated;
downstream
communi7es
and
Mogpog
Town
flooded.

16. March
24,
1996,
Marinduque
Island
MARCOPPER
MINING
CORP
According
to
the
company
the
rock
around
a
cement
plug
inserted
into
the
former
Tapian
open
Pit
drainage
tunnel
to
convert
it
into
a
tailings
containment
was
fractured
and
the
plug
failed.
However,
the
tunnel
started
leaking
in
August
1995.
In
September
1995
Marcopper/
Placer
Dome
started
drilling
down
160
meters
to
the
tunnel.
On
24
March
1996
the
drill
hit
the
tunnel,
released
an
air
pocket
holding
back
tailings
and
started
the
spill.

17. IMPACTS
TO
PEOPLE’S
HEALTH
AND
LIVELIHOOD
AND
ECONOMY
©
MACEC

18. Fish
kills;
death
of
Boac
and
Mogpog
River
• Evacua7on
of
1200
residents
• 26
km
of
the
Makulaquit
and
Boac
river
systems
filled
with
tailings
rendering
them
unusable
• $80
million
in
damage
(the
real
figure
is
much
higher
3)
• Flash
floods
isolated
5
Villages
• 67,000
m3
of
bagged
tailings
collected
and
stacked
in
taVered
sacks
on
banks
of
Boac
River
since
cleanup
began
in
summer
2000
IMPACTS
TO
PEOPLE’S
HEALTH
AND
LIVELIHOOD
AND
ECONOMY
©
MACEC

19. THE
WORST
MINING
DISASTER:
MARINDUQUE
EXPERIENCE
FillFille

20. WHAT
MINERS
Acid mine drainage or acid rock drainage, is the
acidic water that drains out of above-ground or
CANNOT
SOLVE:
under-ground coal and metal mines. It may form
inside the mine or several kilometers downstream.
Acid
Mine
Drainage
It can occur during mining operations and even
when operations has finished and the site is
abandoned.
It affects stream and river ecosystems by increasing
acidity, depleting oxygen, and releasing heavy
metals, such as aluminum, iron, manganese, and
zinc.

21. “The
miner
rapes
the
heart
of
earth
With
his
violent
spade.”
-­‐Kath
Walke,
IP
Poet
© Alyansa Tigil Mina

22. THANK
YOU.

23. Photos
and
data
were
taken
from
the
following
sources:
• ATM
File
Photos
• Ofam
Ombudsman
Report
on
Marinduque
• Legal
Rights
and
Natural
Resources
Center
(LRC)
• Philippine
Indigenous
Peoples
Links
(Piplinks)
• Marinduque
Council
for
Environmental
Concerns
(MACEC)
• Alex
Felipe
Photos
• www.saverapurapu.blogspot.com
• www.panoramio.com
• www.mustardseedblog.com