Impacts of mercury contamination in the Naboc river area in Mindanao,

Philippines
Introduction
Mount Diwata, also locally unofficially nicknamed Diwalwal, is a remote 1,261 meters
high range of volcanic mountain and biodiversity area in Davao Region on eastern part
of Mindanao island of Philippines. The mountain is rich in gold and copper ores and mines.
Illegal and unsafe mining practices have resulted in pollution of water, mercury poisoning,
silting of Naboc river, deaths of human, destruction of environment. Thousands of miners,
including children, are at risk of air and water pollution and mercury poisoning.
Case Study
 Naboc River is a channel for effluents of mining activities in the area.  
 High levels of mercury that pollute the river is due to the presence of mineral
processing plants operating at Mt. Diwata without proper tailing ponds and with
discharges that go directly to Naboc River which causes contamination.
 An investigation of the environmental impacts of artisanal mining in the Agusan
system, with particular reference to mercury contamination, was initiated in 1995
following reports of several incidents of human Hg poisoning in the province of
Davao del Norte.
Law Violated
The case study violated the Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004 (Republic Act
No. 9275) as well as PD 1586 and RA 6969. In the latest water quality monitoring activities
conducted by EMB-XI, levels of Mercury, total suspended solids, fecal coliform did not
conform to the DENR Water Quality Guidelines. Other organizations such as Mines and
Geoscience Bureau (MGB), the United Nations Industrial and Development Organization
(UNIDO), the Naboc River has high concentration of mercury add to that incidents of soil
erosion and siltation in the river.
Conclusion
DENR XI took another step for the rehabilitation of Naboc River. In July 2019, a
memorandum of agreement on the rehabilitation of Naboc River was signed between the
DENR, other national government agencies, and provincial government of Compostela
Valley Province. In the vicinity of Diwalwal, this impact is particularly notable on account of
the localized prevalence of ‘dissolved’ Hg at concentrations hitherto undocumented in
artisanal gold mining localities world-wide. Environmental Management Bureau Regional
Director Wilson Trajeco lauded the initiative of relocating the informal settlers and
processing plants from Mt. Diwata to Sitio Mabatas.