MINDANAO, Philippines In the remote mountain village of Ned, on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, the arrival of heavy machinery signals that development is underway on a controversial, long-planned coal mine. Villager Jimmy Batilaran Jr. said that at least 40 earthmoving machines, including dump trucks and backhoes, have been deployed to the mine’s […]
Siegfred Flaviano, head of South Cotabato Provincial Environment Management Office (Photo courtesy of the provincial government) GENERAL SANTOS CITY -Illegal mining operations in South Cotabato province have slowed down in the past several months due to the intensified monitoring and law enforcement operations. Siegfred Flaviano, head of the Provincial Environment Management Office, said they have not monitored any major illegal mining activity, especially the destructive "banlas" or sluice method, as of Thursday in various mining areas in the province. He said some miners have only resorted to panning in the rivers the rocks or ores that are washed down from nearby mountains by the rainwater. "There (are) some reports regarding those using hoses but these are very minimal based on our validation on the ground," Flaviano said in a briefing. He was referring to the sluice mining method, which is done by pouring a large amount of water onto a mountain surface to loose