London firm gives P120-M to ‘illegal miners, settlers’

HAZARDOUS AREA -- Shanties of illegal miners and settlers in a declared geohazard area in the gold deposit-rich village of Runruno in Quezon town, Nueva Vizcaya. –Photo by Leander Domingo 

By Leander C. Domingo

QUEZON, Nueva Vizcaya -- Over P120 million has been released to around 700 “illegal occupants” who have been relocated to a safer place from a Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB)-declared geohazard area in the gold deposit-rich upland village of Runruno.
    James Carmichael, FCF Minerals Corp. country manager, said the company continues in its efforts to complete the removal of the remaining illegal miners and settlers within the area covered by their financial or technical assistance agreement (FTAA) approved by the national government under the Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
    The FTAA is a permit issued to a multinational company sharing technology and resources to explore and extract minerals in the Philippines.
    FCF Minerals is 100 percent owned by the London-based Metals Exploration.
    It operates the Runruno Gold-Molybdenum project located some 285 kilometers north of Manila in this province, an area which has been known to be prospective in gold and other precious metals since the early 1960s.
    "In conjunction with relevant government agencies, the company continues in its efforts to complete the removal of the remaining illegal miners, including their infrastructure and dwellings, from those areas scheduled to be mined as part of a mine plan particularly stages three and four," Carmichael said.
    He added illegal occupants have been safely relocated and that they continue to work diligently with local authorities to complete their removal and resettlement from stages three and four of the project sites.
    "We extended over P120 million financial assistance to cover more than 700 structures by the occupants that were removed from these project sites," Carmichael said.
    The company recently informed DENR Regional Executive Director Gwendolyn Bambalan of the renewed presence of at least 100 illegal settlers and shanties in Sitio Compound in Runruno.
    "We are continually having talks with the local government units and concerned national agencies like the MGB under the auspices of the DENR for their relocation and safety," Carmichael said.
    He added that he hopes that before any natural calamity hits the province, particularly this town, these illegal occupants will have already been evacuated and moved from the geohazard area within the project site to safer ground.
    In November last year, 10 illegal small-scale miners and squatters died while two others were injured in a landslide at the height of Typhoon "Ulyssess" in Runruno village, a highly susceptible landslide area based on the DENR-MGB list of geohazard areas in the province.
    Meanwhile, FCF Minerals praised the government's move in relocating illegal small-scale miners and squatters in Runruno village.
    "We are very much satisfied with the move of government agencies in relocating villagers from landslide-prone areas to safer grounds in Runruno," Carmichael said.
    He added past operations of the DENR-MGB, National Bureau of Investigation, Philippine Army and Philippine National Police in dismantling small-scale mining equipment and the process of their relocation should be maintained to prevent the return of illegal settlers in geo-hazard areas in the village.
    "We will continue to provide fair and just compensation to the illegal small-scale miners and squatters whose properties have to be removed," Carmichael said.
    He also recognized the assistance of the religious sector in the conduct of dialogues between the mine firm officials and the illegal small-scale miners and squatters for their relocation.
    This town's local government has also purchased a two-hectare land in Boliwao village that will be transformed into a housing and relocation site for poor and legitimate illegal small-scale miners and squatters from Runruno village.
    The relocation project will be jointly constructed with the funding support of the National Housing Authority with initial funding of around P50 million.