'Discuss mine project reasonably'

SOUTH COTABATO, Philippines – A geologist, talking with the local media recently, asked all sectors to discuss the proposed Tampakan mine project “reasonably and to refrain from making scenarios that tend to scare people.”

“Debate on mining issues should be based on actual field work by actual geologists,” said Carlo Arcilla, a geologist affiliated with the National Institute of Geological Science-University of the Philippines.

Arcilla said statements “should not be made to scare people but to challenge issues on safety and environmental management.”

“I encourage environmentalists… to visit large-scale mining operations in the country that practice responsible mining,” he said. “If we all work together we can make it food and mining instead.”

Arcilla noted that in Japan, the Hishikari mine, which has the world’s richest gold deposit, is operating beside farmlands.

He admitted that the ongoing debate on the Tampakan project is good for the project and for the entire mining industry as well. “The proponent of the Tampakan project has no choice but to be responsible, as the project is now under a public microscope,” he said.