MANKAYAN, Benguet -- Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company located in this mineral-rich town is the first in the Philippine mining industry to utilize an engineered sanitary landfill capable to contain three cubic meters of residual wastes daily for maximum of six years.

 

Constructed on a 2, 800-square meter lot near the company’s mill site, the ESL started to be utilized by the company, which collects for free residual wastes from households within the mining community and nearby barangays in Mankayan.

 

The whole component of the ESL will be fully operational once the material recovery facility and project site office are completed by June 2017.

 

“The construction of the ESL is part of the continued commitment of the company as a partner of the government in putting into practice what responsible mining is all about,” said Rolando Reyes, Lepanto’s Mine Environment Protection and Enhancement Department manager.

 

Reyes said that the ESL construction cost Lepanto over P4 million. The main ESL component was fast-tracked and completed in less than two months utilizing 30 locally hired workers.

 

As early as 2000, Lepanto has established a controlled dumpsite facility in compliance with Republic Act 9003 or the Solid Waste Management Act of 2000. "We likewise strictly implement our own version of 'no segregation, no collection' policy in a bid to lessen the volume of wastes generated at source."

 

Earlier, LCMCo President and Chief Executive Officer Bryan Yap vowed the company would initiate projects and programs geared towards responsible mining operations.

 

Yap said that proof that Lepanto is a socially responsible mining was the conferment of an ISO 14001 certification for its environmental management system.

 

Yap said that Lepanto, in span of 80 years, has had been a partner in community and nation building even the famous “responsible mining” came into inception.

 

Based on its audit, the company has planted 6.5 million trees in its communities over the last 50 years while it has been consistently complying with environmental laws.

 

“For the last 80 years, Lepanto did much more than produce copper, gold and silver. We helped build Mankayan town into a first-class municipality. We have been dutifully paying our taxes and we protect and enhance the environment for thousands of our employees and residents of host communities,” Yap added.

 

He further said that Lepanto has built a community hospital that serves not only the employees and their dependents bit also the entire community.**