tagabungtod

This is refined gold taken from the Mainit area. The main source of this is outside the Mainit Protected Area (this is how Mainit, our town treasure, is now officially designated after it was downgraded from a National Park classification---that is another long and interesting story) But the silt and the sludge which result from the mining activity flow downstream. That is why the river is now murky with sediments all the time.

The ores taken from these mine tunnels are brought to nearby barangays like Tagnocon and Katipunan where they are processed. The ores are crushed in ballmills where they are transformed into powder fineness. Tons of these are then loaded to a processing tank which extracts the gold through another process called cyanidation, so-called because they use the chemical cyanide to efficiently extract the gold. 99% of the gold is collected. The final result is what is shown in the picture.

After extraction, the wastes are supposed to be disposed of into tailing ponds. But some plant operators mercilessly and unconscionably throw them anywhere. Some even dump them in rivers (most of these processing plants are located near rivers) effectively clogging and polluting them.

This is prevalent not only in Mainit but everywhere in the mineral-rich Compostela Valley province. Because of our natural resources some Japanese, Chinese and Korean businessmen are now in the province buying tons of unprocessed ores which are directly shipped to their countries. As a result, middlemen are now in a frenzy trying to cash in on another mining bonanza.

Until the government finds a means to provide a better livelihood alternative for the people of our province, unabated, irresponsible, and uncontrolled mining will continue. Consequently, so will the unscrupulous and wanton destruction of our environment and natural resources.

After all these resources are depleted and gone, what?