Manila Standard Today reported that the Mines and Geosciences Bureau asked the help of the National Bureau of Investigation to crack down on illegal mining of magnetite sand in Cagayan Valley, amid mounting complaints in the region.

Mr Leo Jasareno director of MGB said "Complaints are piling up. We’re going to dispatch a team to conduct an investigation. Our focus now is to put a halt on all illegal mining operations until the moratorium on permits is lifted."

China, which reinforces its steel making industry, remains the biggest buyer of magnetite sand from the Philippines.

Mr Jasareno noted the MGB had suspended the operations of several sand miners, including Nicua Mining Corporation of China in Leyte province in August 2012. The company was prohibited from mining sand and exporting the materials to China and other destinations, after it was cited for three counts of violation.

Nicua was found using unsound methods that resulted in waste leak that polluted the nearby Bito Lake. The Chinese miner was also found employing Chinese nationals as workers within the mines, without the necessary permits and tapping a second party to mine within the area without permission from the government.

The MGB said it also stopped the operations of two mining companies in Bicol region. It confiscated 50,000 tonnes of magnetite sand in a mining area in Paracale, Camarines Norte in July 2012. Uni Dragon and business partner Philippine Bao Tong defied a cease and desist order issued by the agency in 2011 and continued its mining and stockpiling operations.

Mr Jasareno said that "The shipment and extraction of the magnetite sand are considered illegal because, aside from the fact that Uni Dragon and Philippine Bao Tong could not present a mineral ore export permit from MGB, the mining companies are not allowed to commercially extract and dispose the minerals. The two Mineral Production Sharing Agreements issued to them are still under exploration."

The two MPSAs were issued to the mining companies on November 4th 2008, covering 282 hectares in Barangay Bagong Bayan, Paracale in Camarines Norte.

Mr Jasareno said the mining companies had yet to file an application for declaration of mining project feasibility and mine development work program at the MGB, which should be the basis of evaluation to be conducted by a technical panel.

Source - Manila Standard Today

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