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MPSA in Isabela suspended

BAGUIO CITY (Jan. 5) —The Platinum Group metals Corp.’s (PGMC) Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) was suspended after an indigenous peoples’ body in Isabela subjected the said mining company to inquiry amid reports that it illegally explored the mineral-rice coastal town of Dinapigue in the said province.

The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) in Isabela recommended the MPSA suspension after Agtas and Dumagats residing in the area claimed that PGMC did not seek their consent prior to the mining operations. The NCIP decided on such after receiving complaints from the indigenous peoples in the area.

The PGMC is owned by a certain Rafael Atayde.

The Valley Times reported in October that a field investigation led by the NCIP and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) last year confirmed the alleged illegal mining operations. The reports said that PGMC breached mining provisions, which include “presence of markings on abandoned drill holes”. Plastic hoses were also found in improvised trails where water was directed to drilling sites and one-meter grid lines of sample stations, the reports said.

The MGB shelved the MPSA application and warned the mining company to stop all exploration activities from its applied area until the appropriate permit shall have been issued by concerned government agencies.

Dinapigue town is accessible only through a 12-hour travel via Nagtipunan, Quirino province and Ma. Aurora, Aurora province. # via Nordis

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