Rapu Rapu is an island of Albay located in the Bicol region and is considered a 4th class municipality (that means they have an average of P13,000,000 to P21,000,000 annual income for the last three years). Lafayette Mining Ltd. is an Australian mining firm involved with gold, silver, copper and zinc exploration and extraction and they have setup Rapu Rapu Processing Inc. (RRPI) as their local counterpart in the Philippines. According to its website:“Rapu-Rapu mineral resource currently supports an eight-year mine life capable of producing approximately 10,000 tonnes of copper in concentrates, 14,000 tonnes of zinc in concentrates, 50,000 ounces of gold and 600,000 ounces of silver annually.”
I am quite not sure as to how much precious metal that can be extracted from the amount of concentrates mentioned above but simply put, our country is really rich in mineral resources and is considered one of the top mining destinations in the world. If only these resources are explored internally, we may be earning more than the present arrangement of our government with foreign firms… but then again… maybe not.
According to reports, on October 11 and 31, 2005, Lafayette allegedly discharged wastewater into the sea with above acceptable levels of cyanide. The discharge affected the local fisherman due to considerable amount of fish kill that resulted. If my memory serves me right, the local population’s health was also affected as skin irritations emerged. Their operation was suspended and was fined by a huge amount by the DENR.
Recently, Lafayette or RRPI has acquired ISO 14001: 2004 certification through Certification International Philippines Inc. (CIPI). The Philippine Daily Inquirer on September 3, 2007, Business Section, published the news. For a mining firm that was dubbed the flagship-mining project of the government, the news kind of slipped under the radar as I was expecting at least half of a news page paid advertisement.
ISO 14001 is simply a standard designed for operating an Environmental Management System (EMS) authored by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) through technical committees. It is the counterpart of ISO 9000 series that is for the implementation of a Quality Management System (QMS). Acquiring such certification is no joke, as it requires a company to identify all the operational factors that might affect the environment, its impact and corresponding countermeasures. It also requires a company to implement projects that would eliminate or reduce waste made by its day-to-day operation.
I was once asked regarding what should a community/government require from a mining firm before giving them permission to start mining even if the DENR already issued an ECC (Environmental Compliance Certificate). My immediate reply was first they should have an environmental management system in place. But even if they present such system and they have completed the certification process through a third party certifying body, it’s not enough to embrace mining. ISO 14001 if implemented by the book will bring forth progress without sacrificing the environment. One mining firm in the northern parts of Luzon claimed to have successfully implemented the system and has brought sustainable development to its neighboring communities. Even if mining firms subject to a periodical audit through a third party certifying body, the government must also perform it’s own periodical audit or better… surprise audits.
Why perform a separate audit? Isn’t it redundant?
It is redundant but the reason behind it is that most companies do not take their EMS seriously. And when I say companies, it covers big, small even multinational ones. I think multinationals are more prone to violations of their standards than small ones due to the size and complexity of their organization. Aside from the obvious good reasons that companies acquire certification, some just do it for the sake of completing a requirement from a customer and worst of all is to just show off. Some certified companies suffer from selective/amnesiac implementation. They only implement their system when there is an impending audit, worst… on the day of the audit itself.
Lafayette needs to be given a chance to erase their previous failure in environment protection and conservation. Maybe ISO 14001 is one step. But… given their record, the government and the people must not sleep on this one.
I am quite not sure as to how much precious metal that can be extracted from the amount of concentrates mentioned above but simply put, our country is really rich in mineral resources and is considered one of the top mining destinations in the world. If only these resources are explored internally, we may be earning more than the present arrangement of our government with foreign firms… but then again… maybe not.
According to reports, on October 11 and 31, 2005, Lafayette allegedly discharged wastewater into the sea with above acceptable levels of cyanide. The discharge affected the local fisherman due to considerable amount of fish kill that resulted. If my memory serves me right, the local population’s health was also affected as skin irritations emerged. Their operation was suspended and was fined by a huge amount by the DENR.
Recently, Lafayette or RRPI has acquired ISO 14001: 2004 certification through Certification International Philippines Inc. (CIPI). The Philippine Daily Inquirer on September 3, 2007, Business Section, published the news. For a mining firm that was dubbed the flagship-mining project of the government, the news kind of slipped under the radar as I was expecting at least half of a news page paid advertisement.
ISO 14001 is simply a standard designed for operating an Environmental Management System (EMS) authored by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) through technical committees. It is the counterpart of ISO 9000 series that is for the implementation of a Quality Management System (QMS). Acquiring such certification is no joke, as it requires a company to identify all the operational factors that might affect the environment, its impact and corresponding countermeasures. It also requires a company to implement projects that would eliminate or reduce waste made by its day-to-day operation.
I was once asked regarding what should a community/government require from a mining firm before giving them permission to start mining even if the DENR already issued an ECC (Environmental Compliance Certificate). My immediate reply was first they should have an environmental management system in place. But even if they present such system and they have completed the certification process through a third party certifying body, it’s not enough to embrace mining. ISO 14001 if implemented by the book will bring forth progress without sacrificing the environment. One mining firm in the northern parts of Luzon claimed to have successfully implemented the system and has brought sustainable development to its neighboring communities. Even if mining firms subject to a periodical audit through a third party certifying body, the government must also perform it’s own periodical audit or better… surprise audits.
Why perform a separate audit? Isn’t it redundant?
It is redundant but the reason behind it is that most companies do not take their EMS seriously. And when I say companies, it covers big, small even multinational ones. I think multinationals are more prone to violations of their standards than small ones due to the size and complexity of their organization. Aside from the obvious good reasons that companies acquire certification, some just do it for the sake of completing a requirement from a customer and worst of all is to just show off. Some certified companies suffer from selective/amnesiac implementation. They only implement their system when there is an impending audit, worst… on the day of the audit itself.
Lafayette needs to be given a chance to erase their previous failure in environment protection and conservation. Maybe ISO 14001 is one step. But… given their record, the government and the people must not sleep on this one.
