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Jenevieve Limqueco POLISCI C31 Is Mining Good or Bad?

January 30, 2013

Most of the people have a connotation that mining is bad because of what they heard or saw in the news in the television or the newspaper, and Im one of those people who thought that mining was not good because it damages the surroundings. Almost every day there would be news about mining where people die inside it or the surroundings are dirty because of mining and many more negative things. My connotation about mining changed when I attended the mining forum in our school. My class in POLISCI was one of the classes chosen to go to the photo exhibit of The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines about mining. My first impression of the photo exhibit was that it was boring and why was it that the pictures were all about people, schools, and medical missions, is not it that the photo exhibit was about mining? And after a while of looking at the pictures, the visitors (one is a professor from DLSU and the other one is from Palawan) from The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines called us to sit down in the middle of the exhibit and let us ask questions. When there was no one asking, the visitor from Palawan started to tell stories about mining. That was the time when I started to be interested in the topic because mining is not really bad; actually mining is good because this is where the mining companies get their money to help the indigenous people in a specific area. The visitors also explained to us that not all of the things about mining are exposed to the world, only those negative things are being publicized to the public and the good things are being thrown away in the garbage by the media. This was the time when I realized that the visitors are correct because all of the things written in the newspaper or reported in the news are all negative things about mining and the good things about mining like building schools, roads, and hospitals are not written or reported. Therefore with this situation a lot of people are saying No to Mining but they do not think if the things written or reported are all true. Just like what the visitor told us, the people always say No to Mining but they have not seen the good side of mining. She would be sure that when the people see the good side of mining then they would say Yes to Mining rather than No to Mining. My class was one of the classes chosen to attend the forum about mining. At first, Im not interested in this forum because I do not know anything about mining, In this forum, the speakers explained what is mining and what does mining do in our economy, also they explained that mining is good and not bad.

Atty. Ronald Rex Recidoro

Three questions about mining: 1) What is mining? Mining is the science technique in business of mineral discovery and extraction. 2) Is mining relevant? Yes, because mining affects all of us. The time you wake up until you close your eyes you are using a product of mining. Mining makes modern life possible. 3) Is the Philippines encouraged in mining? Mining cycle 1) Exploration exploring an area to see if this area has minerals underneath it. 2) Mining if there are sufficient quantities of minerals in that area, then the geologists give a go signal to the mining engineers to start mining. 3) Reclamation/rehabilitation after mining the area, the team should put the place back to its original look or make it a better place, so that the people near that area can still use that place. Note: the mining cycle is not completed until reclamation that protects surface and water resources is complete. Other countries have used their mineral wealth to jumpstart their economies. The question now is that why cant we or why dont we? Based on geological and per hectare perspective, the Philippines ranks 3rd in Gold, 4th in Copper and 5th in Nickel. Out of 13 million hectares of land about 9 million hectares are considered to be of high potential meaning there is a high likelihood that minerals would be found underneath, but only about 2% are currently covered by the mining firms. Estimated inventory that is barely touched (see image GEDC7268). Estimated value is about a trillion dollars. (see image GEDC7270 to 72 amounts: P163.2B, P88B, P75.2B) contributions of mining is not just about money. More than anything the contributions of mining is about social development environmental protection and CSR. Mining companies built schools, houses, roads, water facilities and hospitals (equipped with the latest technology and can do surgery) for the indigenous people. The people are also trained by the mining company so that they can improve their lives independent of mining. Engr. Rodalee Ofiaza (see image 7287, 7289-7293, photo1396, 1404-1405, 1409, 1412, 1414) Coal by definition is not a mineral but it is mined, meaning mining is the process. It does not mean that when you are mining you are getting the minerals. What drives the tectonic plates to move? Example is that when the hot water is boiling, the water is moving from the center to the sides. Same with the Earth, when the outer core is boiling it moves the water from the center to the sides then the mantle moves therefore the tectonic plates move. Mineral deposits are usually found near the volcanoes.

Exploration: the search for an ore body = .., geological mapping, geophysical ., geochemical ., drilling Mineral resource = geological evidence Engr. Darrel Ablaza Mining is a cycle. It has a beginning and it had an end. 5 parts of the cycle: exploration, studies (feasibility study), development included na ung financial, actual production and mine closure plan. Exploration = target the prospects, drill the area *high risk in front but when you do it right high reward. Mining is always been a community builder. Mine closure plant = bring it back to its original state as close as possible. Forum Listen to 1:11 to 1:58

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