Marcopper mining disaster

The Marcopper mining disaster was one of the Philippines' largest mining disasters to date. The disaster occurred on the Philippine island of Marinduque a province of the Philippines located in the MIMAROPA region in Luzon.

The Marcopper Mining Corporation Officially started its mining operations on Marinduque Island, Philippines, in 1969 at what was known as the Mt. Tapian ore deposit. This was after a number of years of mining exploration and studies. When the Mt. Tapian reserve was depleted in 1990, Marcopper continued its operations utilizing the San Antonio copper orebody which lies some three kilometers north of the Mt. Tapian mining complex. Mine tailings from the Mt. Tapian ore deposit were discharged into Calancan Bay. It is estimated that a total of no less than 84 million metric tons of mine tailings were discharged into this shallow bay between 1975 and 1988. Due to constant complaints by local residents against the continued dumping of mine tailings into Calancan Bay, it was agreed that the old Mt. Tapian open-cut mine site would be used to receive mine tailings from the San Antonio operations on a temporary basis. In spite of the unconventional use of the Tapian Pit as a containment system, no environmental risk assessment and management was carried out by Marcopper.^[1]

Mining disaster

On 24 March 1996, the Marcopper Mine on Marinduque made global news due to a Mining accident at their Marinduque mine. The incident involved the Marcopper Mining Corporation which has been carrying out open-pit copper mining since the 1970s. When the company finished one of its operations in Marinduque, it plugged up the old pit with a concrete fixture to allow the pit to act as a disposal lake for mining waste. In August 1995, a significant leak was discovered in the pit's drainage tunnel. This subsequently fractured. The accident discharged tailings into the Makulapnit-Boac (Boac) river system. The disaster resulted in the release of over 1.6 million cubic meters of tailings along 27 km of the river and the coastal areas.^[2] The impact on the river and the people who depend on it for their livelihoods was massive. The rush of tailings displaced river water which inundated low-lying areas, destroying crops and vegetable gardens and clogging irrigation channels to rice fields. The release left the Boac River virtually dead. The effects of the incident were so devastating that a UN assessment mission declared the accident to be a major environmental disaster.^[2] The Tapian pit contained around 23 million metric tons of mine waste. Officials of the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) claim that they did not know of the presence of the drainage tunnel measuring 2.6 kilometres long and 1 metre wide which was found underneath, which leads to the Makulapnit and Boac river system.^[3]

Aftermath

The toxic spills immediately caused flash floods which isolated five villages, with a population of 4,400 people, along the far side of the Boac river. One village, Barangay Hinapulan, was buried under six feet of muddy floodwater and 400 families had to flee to higher grounds. Their sources of drinking water were contaminated while fish, freshwater shrimp and pigs were killed. Helicopters had to fly in food, water and medical supplies to the isolated villages. Residents of 20 villages out of the 60 villages in the whole province were advised to evacuate their communities.^[3]

The government estimates that this toxic tailings waste killed P1.8 million worth of mature freshwater and marine life and P5 million milkfish fry.^[3] The 27-kilometre Boac river, which is the main source of livelihood for those who are not part of the 1,000-strong workforce of Marcopper, has been declared dead by government officials.^[4]

On 17 April 1996, the Department of Health (DOH) came up with a report which said that residents could already be harbouring in their bodies amounts of zinc and copper which are beyond tolerable limits. Nine residents were found to have zinc in their blood which was more than 200% above safe levels. Water samples also revealed excessive and dangerous levels of contamination i.e. 1,300% above the human tolerable level of 0.5 microgram per 1/1000 litres of water. Residents also complained of skin irritations and respiratory problems which could have been caused by the poisonous vapours emitted by hydrogen sulfide and nitrous oxide from the mine wastes.^[3] Despite these findings, Marcopper held on to the claim that the tailings were non-toxic.^[4]

The drinking water residents relied on was contaminated. Fish, shrimp and other food sources, which are the main livelihood for those who do not work for Marcopper, were immediately killed. After the disaster, Marcopper and Placer Dome closed down all their mines. The government attempted to cover up the fact they did not enforce environmental laws throughout the years. The local residents in Marinduque have also claimed they knew about the tunnel for almost 20 years. Evidence came to light that Marcopper knew of the leak in the drainage tunnel well in advance of the accident, as there had been a long history of problems regarding the tunnel and pit.^[4]

Present

On October 4, 2005, the provincial government of Marinduque sued Marcopper's parent company, Placer Dome, for $100 million in damages. Placer Dome was purchased in 2006 by Barrick Gold, who has now been joined in the lawsuit.^[5][6]

For 16 years the Marinduque Marcopper Mine dumped its toxic wastes into the shallow bay of Calancan, filling it with 200 million tons of toxic tailings.^[7] When exposed to the ocean breezes, sometimes the tailings become airborne and landed on the rice fields, in open wells, and on village homes. The locals apparently called this their "snow from Canada".^[8] This "Snow from Canada", consisting of mine tailings, has forced 59 children to undergo traumatic lead detoxification in the Philippine capital of Manila. Unfortunately, at least three children have died from this heavy metal poisoning.^[9]

Oxfam, an international development and humanitarian aid agency with projects in the Philippines was approached by Marinduque community members for help. Oxfam Australia’s Mining Ombudsman took their case and released a report.^[9] The report calls on Placer Dome to complete an environmental clean-up, adequately compensate affected communities, and take steps to prevent future disasters. The report updates similar findings made by the United States Geological Survey in July 2004. As of 2005 Placer Dome (which ran the mine at the time of the disaster) is the sixth largest gold mining company in the world and is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange^[10], but it has since been acquired and is no longer an independent company. At the time of the incident Marinduque was identified as among the 44 poorest of the 80 provinces in the Philippines.^[11]

See also

• Marinduque
• Placer Dome
• Barrick Gold

References

1. ^ The Marinduque Island Mine Disaster, Philippines
2. ^ ^{a b} Philippine Mining Disaster: Counting the Cost of a Ruined River
3. ^ ^{a b c d} The Marcopper toxic mine disaster -Philippines' biggest industrial accident
4. ^ ^{a b c} Environmental Justice Case Study
5. ^ Philippine Province Sues Canadian Mining Giant Placer Dome
6. ^ Philippines province sues Placer Dome, alleging environmental damage
7. ^ Paradise to Toxic Wasteland
8. ^ One photojournalist witnesses the toxic effects of Canadian gold mining on three remote Philippine communities
9. ^ ^{a b} Oxfam Report
10. ^ From Paradise to Toxic Wasteland, MiningWatch Canada, August 24, 2005
11. ^ Poverty Statistics Poorest 44 Provinces, National Statistical Coordination Board, 2000