Customise Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorised as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyse the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customised advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyse the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

July 18, 2025
News

Lopez: eight mining firms under review

  • July 26, 2016
  • 0
Lopez: eight mining firms under review

Eight mining firms are under hot water as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) are investigating alleged violations they committed, secretary Gina Lopez said on Monday.

Lopez named the firms following her dialogue with the Lumads in Mindanao on Sunday.

“I met with them and they wanted to stop large-scale mining in their provinces. And they were very explicit to the names [of the companies],” Lopez said.

TVI Resource Development Philippines Inc. in Zamboanga Del Norte will be reviewed over “human rights violation causing demolition and forced evacuation.”

TVI denied the allegations and said the issue has been present since 2012, and that the firm is not driving out people.

“It was the provincial government that formed a multi-agency task force dismantling the illegal small-scale mining operations and not TVI,” TVI Director Kaycee Crisostomo said in a separate interview.

St. Augustine Gold & Copper Ltd. located in Compostela Valley is facing problems over militarization issues, while San Roque Metals Inc. is facing siltation and land grabbing complaints in Agusan del Norte.

Surigao del Norte-based firms Taganito Mining, Shenzhou Mining Corp. and the Tampakan project of Sagittarius Mines in South Cotabato were also named.

Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) said that mining in southern Philippines has worsened, affecting several communities in the area.

“The situation in Mindanao is very much different, especially in CARAGA. It is where the most number of mining operations and applications are located,” ATM national coordinator Jaybee Garganera told The Philippine Star in an interview.

The Mines and Geosciences Bureu (MGB) imposed stricter audit standards on mining firms in an effort to end irresponsible mining. The audit will now look beyond social and economic impacts of mining operations.

“The comprehensive review will focus on the companies’ compliance with the requirements of the Mining Act of 1995, Environmental Compliance Certificate, Forestry Law, and other laws pertaining to mining. We want to see whether a specific violation will entail suspension of operations,” MGB director Leo Jasareno said.

After taking office, DENR Secretary Lopez issued an audit for all mining firms in the country and suspended four firms one week after. DENR is set to release the result of the audit by next month.