Lepanto Mines Scored Anew for Polluting Rivers

When rain falls, stinking floodwaters from the Abra River destroy crops affecting the livelihood of peasant communities living along the river from Abra to Ilocos Sur, both provinces in northern Philippines.  Fishes, shrimps, and river eels start to disappear or become unedible. Results of an Environmental Investigation Mission point to mine tailings from Lepanto Consolidated Mining Corporation. 

By Kim N. Quitasol
Northern Dispatch
Bulatlat

BAGUIO CITY - During the rainy season, floodwaters, which smell like mine tailings, submerge the rice fields of peasants living along the Abra River in Abra province, northern Philippines. As a result, according to Pastor Jordan Rivas of the Save the Abra River Movement-Abra (STARM-Abra), a multi-sectoral environmental group, “anything planted dies before it matures”.

In a press conference last week, Pastor Rivas said that the findings of their Environmental Investigation Mission (EIM) held from Oct. 24-26 point to Lepanto Consolidated Mining Corporation (LCMCo) as the ones responsible for the frequent flooding of the Abra River, which led to the destruction of the laplapog (rice and cornfields by the riverbank) of the peasants.

He explained that these days, flooding is now more frequent due to LCMCo’s expanding gold production. He compared this to earlier years when the company was engaged in copper production where flooding happened only once a year.

According to Rivas, the people of Abra are convinced that the water that floods their fields is tainted LCMCo’s mine waste because of its color and smell. “Sabali ti libeg na” (Its murkiness is different), he stressed.  Rivas further said that the sediments from the floodwaters contaminate the fields.

Mine wastes, due to frequent flooding, also kills freshwater aquatic life, according to Rivas. He said that Bangued residents have seen dead fishes that are washed down from the upstream towns of Tubo and Manabo.

Native delicacies like the igat (freshwater eel), udang (freshwater shrimp), and the famous ludong (a freshwater fish) are disappearing, he said. Today, some fish were found to be stunted or bloated.

“They even smell differently when cooked,” Rivas said. The ludong costs around P1, 000 to P3, 000 per kilo.

Rivas gathered that there were cases when children experience skin irritation after swimming in the murky river during the rainy season. The skin irritation was described to be like “rashes” that cover all parts of the body including the face and scalp.

Similar plight in Ilocos Sur

In the same press conference, Avelino Dacanay, secretary general of the Solidarity of Peasants against Exploitation (STOP Exploitation), an organization of peasants from Ilocos Sur, said that peasants from their province who are living along the Abra River share the same plight as their counterparts from Abra.

Dacanay said that floodwaters are submerging an increasing area of rice fields along its riverbanks resulting in a decline in rice production. He said that the mine tailings released by LCMCo to the Abra River adds layers of hard crust, which causes riverbanks to overflow more easily. 

During a Kapihan (coffee) sa Benguet program this month, LCMCo’s Project Development Manager Jake Foronda said that the company is working closely with the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) and Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for the detoxifying measures and treatment of its mine wastes at Tailings Dam 5A.

However, Dr. Ana Marie Leung, STARM spokesperson, stressed that residents living near the Maudangan River in Barangay (village) Paalaban, Mankayan which is located upstream from the present tailings dam, are exposed to the untreated water coming from the LCMCo’s carbon-in-pulp mill (CIP). She explained that the CIP mill is where the ores are processed to extract the gold.

The river was named Maudang because udang (freshwater shrimp) used to thrive in the river. But due to LCMCo’s mining operations, Leung lamented that not a single shrimp or fish can be found in the river these days.

Leung said that the initial findings of the EIM showed that the quality of water coming from LCMCo’s CIP mill is the same with that at the tailings dam. She revealed that water testing confirmed that the water from LCMCo’s CIP mill and tailing dam are acidic and contains dissolved oxygen below 2 milligrams per liter (mg/L). Aquatic organisms need more than 2 mg/L of dissolved oxygen in order to survive, she added.

The EIM conducted physicochemical samplings from LCMCo’s CIP mill down to Santa, Ilocos Sur. Leung revealed that unlike DENR testing, which was concentrated at the tailings dam, the EIM opted to start at the CIP mill because environmental degradation starts there. She added that most of the residents are engaged in small-scale mining, which compels them to have contact with the said river contaminated with LCMCo’s mine waste. Nordis / Bulatlat 

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