Estrada, Faith L.

October 28, 2019

Bachelor of Science in Accountancy, 5th year Acctg.160 Synthesis

MINING: AS A REVENUE GENERATOR AND AS A SERIOUS THREAT TO

PEOPLE AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from

the earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef or placer deposit. These
deposits form a mineralized package that is of economic interest to the miner. Ores
recovered by mining include metals, coal, oil shale, gemstones, limestone, chalk,
dimension stone, rock salt, potash, gravel, and clay. Mining is required to obtain any
material that cannot be grown through agricultural processes, or created artificially in
a laboratory or factory. Mining in a wider sense includes extraction of any non-
renewable resource such as petroleum, natural gas, or even water.

Mining is a money making business. Not only do mining companies prosper,

but governments also make money from revenues. Workers also receive income
and benefits. Most people underestimate the importance of the role of this sector in
global economies, but little do they know national governments of countries who
export minerals rely heavily on this industry to boost their economic performance.

The mining industry is considered as one of the fastest growing economies all
over the world. Mining is first and foremost a source of mineral commodities that all
countries find essential for maintaining and improving their standards of living. Mined
materials are needed to construct roads and hospitals, to build automobiles and
houses, to make computers and satellites, to generate electricity, and to provide the
many other goods and services that consumers enjoy. In addition, mining is
economically important to producing regions and countries especially in the
Philippines. It provides employment, dividends, and taxes that pay for hospitals,
schools, and public facilities. The mining industry produces a trained workforce and
small businesses that can service communities and may initiate related businesses.
Mining also yields foreign exchange and accounts for a significant portion of gross
domestic product. Mining fosters a number of associated activities, such as
manufacturing of mining equipment, provision of engineering and environmental
services, and the development of world-class universities in the fields of geology,
mining engineering, and metallurgy. The economic opportunities and wealth
generated by mining for many producing countries are substantial. While riding a
bus, there’s a construction company in Lugait, Misamis Oriental that caught my
attention, they have that tug line “Use Steel, Save Trees”. One of the solutions to
save trees is to reduce its usage and that McKinley et al. recommend replacing steel
with wood in building. Steel production is carbon intensive, and carbon can remain
stored in a structural beam almost as easily as in a tree.

Mining is one of the oldest industries and extracts solid materials and minerals
necessary to produce many of the modern products in everyday life. However, it has
environmental impacts felt beyond mines and their vicinity. Irresponsible mining can
lead to contamination of the natural environment, pollution such as AMD or acid
mine drainage and contaminated water sources. This is a counter-effect
against agriculture, destruction of ecosystems erosion, denaturalisation, chemical
poisoning of people nearby. “Use Steel, Save Trees” tug line is somehow true in the
other sense, but to tell you the truth mining is responsible for deforestation because
many of the minerals are located in forests and in protected areas in the tropics.

The Philippines ranks amongst the world’s mineral-rich countries when it

comes to gold, copper, nickel and chromite. But the country’s mineral resources only
benefit large foreign companies and not the Filipinos who can use these resources to
develop its national industrialisation (IBON, ‘PH minerals benefit foreigners not
Filipinos’, 14 Mar 2017). In the Philippines, mining has a very poor record as a result
of the massive social and environmental problems it has caused historically. The
government has conducted mining road shows across the globe. Incentives for
foreign firms make their operations effectively tax-free for the first five years. Billions
of dollars in investments have been promised and a total of 2,000 mining permit
applications are pending. The ‘streamlining’ of the mining application process has
become synonymous with a relaxing of environmental laws combined with attempts
to undermine the legal protections afforded to indigenous peoples. It is feared that
proposed constitutional change may further weaken protections. The combination of
inadequate protection measures and natural hazards can be and has been
catastrophic. The country’s record of mining accidents is evidence of this. The spills
of cyanide and tailings at Rapu-Rapu Island – the government’s current mining
showcase – in Albay, Southern Luzon, an independent commission established by
the Government found the company guilty of negligence and recommended that the
mining operation be closed down. Bald and denuded mountains without any
vegetation in the mining concessions are graphic evidence of how irresponsible
mining wrought havoc on nature. The more disturbing issue, however, is the ever-
increasing human rights violations and extrajudicial killings of human rights activists
who advocate for ordinary people and local communities opposed to large-scale
mining operations.

With all those things (the benefits and its effect) to consider, our government
must weigh whether to continue mining as a revenue generator or to stop it as a
serious threat to people and the environment. Since President Duterte came to
power in 2016, the government has suspended the operations of dozens of large
local and multi-national mining companies for serious reasons among which is non-
compliance with requirements to replant trees in mining sites ravaged by unregulated
and irresponsible mining. The President wants to stop the mining companies from
further committing this sin against people, nature and the environment – a callous
practice by the companies. The closure of irresponsible mining companies as vowed
by President Duterte is a sword hanging on the environmental rapists.

My view on this issue is parallel to our President Duterte’s view. Mining is not
the only source of income of our country we can create government programs that
could alter those funds. One of it says Lopez is tourism, it can be an alternative
employment generators and revenue-earners larger than mining. Philippine tourism
industry is one of the booming industries in the country.
http://www.geologyin.com/2014/03/what-is-mining.html

https://web.mit.edu/12.000/www/m2016/finalwebsite/problems/mining.html

https://www.pna.gov.ph/opinion/pieces/112-duterte-and-killing-the-mining-industry

https://www.nap.edu/read/10318/chapter/4

http://avalaresources.com/economic-significance-of-mining/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032116306050

https://daily.jstor.org/could-a-trillion-trees-really-save-the-planet/