PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan — The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) in Mimaropa is proposing the allotment of a PHP17-million fund from its central office for the conduct of research and study on a contaminated pit lake community in Barangay Sta. Lourdes here before subjecting it to actual rehabilitation.
Mimaropa stands for Occidental and Oriental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan.
The study is needed to determine the histories of the Palawan Quicksilver Mines, Inc. (PQMI) mine site, and Sta. Lourdes, the area of its former mercury mining operations, Alvin Requimin, chief of the Mineral Land Survey of the MGB regional office said Tuesday.
“This is for the overall rehabilitation of the abandoned mine site. We will look into the history of the place, studies and inputs of technical persons, and review of related literature about it. There will be pilot areas to establish for us to know what type of rehabilitation will be appropriate to the abandoned mine site,” Requimin said in a phone interview.
The fund will be managed under the PQMI Rehabilitation Program in the pit lake community.
Requimin disclosed that the study will include knowing the contamination level of mercury in the area, flora and fauna diversity assessment, the socio-economic and institutional impact of mercury mining operations, landslide-prone areas, potential of pill bugs as zoo-remediators, and selected organic filter media for heavy metals adsorption, among others.
“The pill bugs as zoo-remediators are like cockroaches that we will place in the soil. We will need to do more studies and testings in the area because these pill bugs are effective remediators of heavy metals,” he said.
Pill bugs are crustaceans that live on land and breathe through a gill-like body part, living in moist places. Their unique ability is to remove heavy metals from soils, or cleaning them of pollutants such as lead, cadmium, and arsenic.
The project’s duration is from 2018 to 2023 and will be done by the Ecosystem Research and Development Bureau (ERDB) and Mining and Degraded Areas Rehabilitation Research Center (MDARRC), which are attached agencies of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
“Right now, we are presenting the proposal, which is part of the process of funding that the EMB central office can approve,” he added.
Meanwhile, Jovic Fabello, spokesperson of the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff (PCSDS), said they went to Sta. Lourdes recently with DENR Assistant Secretary for Mining Concerns Nonita Caguioa.
The visit was part of the proposal for funding that will be proposed to rehabilitate the abandoned PQMI mine site, and also the city solid waste sanitary landfill. (PNA)
