Philex gets $25-M insurance payment for Padcal spill

MANILA, Philippines - Philex Mining Corporation yesterday received payment of its insurance claim of $25 million from Chartis Philippines Insurance. Inc. as earlier agreed upon.

“Further to our disclosure letter of Feb. 8, 2013, we would like to inform the Exchange that today, Feb. 12, 2013, the company has been credited for the amount of $25 million in full payment of the amount agreed upon under the Settlement, and Policy Buy-Back Agreement entered into by the Company with Chartis Philippines Insurance, Inc. on Feb. 8, 2013,” said Philex president and chief operating officer Eulalio Austin Jr.

The proceeds would be used to defray the expenses incurred for the tailings spill incident in its Padcal copper-gold mine in Benguet last year.

Pending the collective decision on the use of the settlement funds, the money would be diverted to the company’s general fund for general corporate use.

Philex said earlier it would comply with the Feb. 19 deadline set by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) for the payment of the P1.034 billion fine imposed for the 20 million tons of tailings spilled from its compromised tailings facility.

The company also faces a P92.8 million fine imposed by the Pollution Adjudication Board (PAB) for the contamination of the Agno River and Balog Creek.

Philex is petitioning the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) to immediately allow it to temporarily resume operations to be able to produce fresh tailings to fill the void in the compromised tailings facility before the rainy season.

The process called beaching was recommended by the foreign consultants hired by Philex for the rehabilitation of the tailings pond.

Because the tailings pond was designed to hold solids, 3.5 million tons of fresh tailings should be dumped into the ponds to push away the water from the dam. This would create what is called a beach.

It would take about three to four months to produce the volume of silt needed for beaching.

The copper concentrate that would be produced from the temporary resumption of operations would be stored as part of the mine’s stockpile and would not be sold until the Department of Environment and  Natural Resources (DENR) lifts the suspension order on mine operations.