Sustainable Mine Closure and Decommissioning Program

CEST 2017 15th International Conference on Environmental Science and Technology Rhodes, Greece, 31 August to 2 September 2017 Sustainable Decommissioning and Integrated Closure Planning of Selected Mine Sites in the Bicol Region, Philippines Gonzales, Amelia B. Bicol University College of Engineering, East Campus, Legazpi City, Albay, Philippines Region in terms of operational, economic and social aspects; (2) determine the views of stakeholder and community involvements in the decommissioning and planning phase towards mine closure; (3) identify closure legislation and policies to regulate the implementation of sustainable mine decommissioning and closure practices; and (4) determine mining policies that may be recommended to ensure a sustainable decommissioning and closure of mineral and polymetallic mining operations in the Bicol Region. Abstract. The study assessed the status of the Rapu-Rapu the status of mineral and polymetallic mines in the Bicol Minerals Incorporated (RRMI) and the Filminera Resources Corporation (FRC) which are the polymetallic and mineral mining sites, respectively in the Bicol Region, Philippines regarding their mine closure and decommissioning procedures in relation to the impact communities that they engaged. It is in this context that the study was implemented to set a management direction in the inevitable event of mine closure and decommissioning. The study utilized the qualitative and quantitative methods of research. Respondents consisted of the key officials of government agencies and municipal and barangay officials as well as 2. Materials and Methods households of the host and impact communities covering the two mining sites of Rapu-Rapu and Aroroy as well as community organizations and mining company representatives. Findings showed that both mining sites extract similar resources and have been paying taxes to the Philippine government. Although the RRMI has initiated its mine closure process, decommissioning is underway and still needs to undergo its standard procedure with various stakeholders, while FRC has its operations ongoing. It is recommended that mine closure planning must be integrated within the overall mine operations plan, and should be integral to the operational life cycle of the mine sites. The study made use of desk reviews, field observations and qualitative and quantitative approaches in data collection. Key informant interview of key officials of RRMI and FRC was undertaken to generate relevant technical information about the mining operations. Information from the direct and indirect impact barangays hosting the mining areas were also collected from key leaders of the barangays and LGU officials. A household survey was also employed to gain more insights and a deeper understanding of the culture of the residents in the mining areas. Secondary data and information from the Department of Keywords: sustainable decommissioning, integrated closure Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Regional planning 1. Introduction Office No. V attached agencies such as the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) and the Office of the Municipal Planning and Development (MPDO) in the Municipalities of Aroroy, Masbate and Rapu-Rapu, Albay was carried out to augment and validate datasets collected from primary sources. Descriptive statistics such as frequency count and arithmetic mean were employed to analyze the relevant datasets. Mining industries in the Philippines is one of the biggest contributors in government's taxes yet it also causes long term environmental alteration and modification as well as social impact visible once mine site operations have ceased (Limpitlaw, 2004). This could be the result of mining legislation which failed to prevent or minimize the possible 3. Results and Discussions long term effects on the environment on account of the mining operations and mine closure (Dalupan, 2001). Hence, the importance of mine closure planning, Findings showed that both mining companies extract similar minerals resources such as copper, silver and gold that employs the same methods of extraction, which is the open pit mining to extract the ore at a maximum annual rate of one million tons and contributed greatly to the employment and economic well-being of the people. However, in terms of mine life, RRMI is at the closures stage while FRC is still on its commercial operations. The which is a practice but is neither complete nor formalized for a large majority of companies (Peck, 2005). On this premise, the study was designed to assess the Rapu-Rapu Minerals, Incorporated (RRMI) and the Filminera Resources Corporation (FRC) mining sites in the Bicol Region with the hope of recommending policies for the sustainable decommissioning and integrated closure of mineral and Table1. Mining Project During Operation Phase polymetallic mining operations. Specifically, the study sought answers to the following objectives: (1) to determine Description Basic Rapu-Rapu Polymetallic Filminera Resources CEST2017_01078

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