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MANILA - The Department of Environment and Natural Resources said over the weekend that operations at the Padcal mine remain suspended until such time that Philex Mining Corp. has assured the integrity and safety of its tailings pond.
In a statement, Environment Secretary Ramon Paje said the Mines and Geosciences Bureau and Environmental Management Bureau have completed an initial assessment of the situation, and found that no discharge made its way to the San Roque Power Dam, which is located 30 kilometers downstream from the point where the Agno and Balog rivers converge.
Paje said laboratory analyses of water samples continue.
The Padcal mine's drain tunnel discharges its water load to the Balog River, which converges with the Agno River about 2.5 kilometers downstream.
Leo Jasareno, MGB director, said Philex has three tailings pond but only Tailings Pond No. 3 was actively used, with the two other ponds rehabilitated as forest areas.
He said Philex engineers had plugged the penstock of Tailings Pond No.3, stopping water and sediments from passing through and ending up in the drain tunnel.
The penstock is a hollow elongated structure built within a tailings pond, with sidewalls or stopboards but open at the top where overflow water of the said pond enters and drains to the tunnel below it.
MGB's initial investigation showed that portions of the stopboards could have been displaced by the unusually heavy rains in the last two weeks.
Benguet Governor Nestor Fongwan last Friday said Philex had contained the spill, preventing the discharge from reaching the Agno River, which is a potable water source for residents.
Manuel V. Pangilinan, Philex chairman and chief executive, earlier said the company has taken out a $50 million environmental insurance and $30 million business interruption insurance to help restore the integrity of the tailings pond and rehabilitate affected areas of the leak.
Pangilinan also assured the public that the water and sediment from its tailings pond are safe and non-toxic, and that no injuries or fatalities were reported as a result of this incident.
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