Philippines Chamber of Mines is set to implement a set of sustainability standards developed by the Mining Association of Canada (MAC). Launched in 2004, the standards named ‘Towards Sustainable Mining’ (TSM) requires companies operating in various mining sectors to assess the performance of their facilities annually in terms of tailings and waste management, biodiversity conservation, safety and health, and community outreach. Philippine’s domestic bauxite mining industry is expected to benefit largely from these initiatives.
Under the sustainability programme bauxite mining companies will be mandated to assess the performance of their facilities in segments like crisis management, effective energy use and harmful GHG emissions management.
With this decision Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) becomes the first mining association in South East Asia to take a constructive approach to bauxite mining and other mineral sectors.
“The adoption of TSM by members of the Chamber of Mines is intended to institutionalise practices that secure these contributions for the long-term,” COMP chairman Gerard Brimo said.
The assessment done by bauxite miners and other member companies of their facilities’ performance will be put in public domain to facilitate scrutiny. COMP said that it would align its performance areas with those of Canada’s.
Two mining companies in Samar and Surigao del Norte were the only ones to mine bauxite in the Philippines. Last year Marcventures Holdings Inc acquired these two companies following its merger with the owning company Asia Pilot Mining Philippines Corp.
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