Philippines: New mining policy doesn't end conflict

Of strong appeal is the provision of EO-79 that forbids the use of mercury in any small-scale mine. Mercury collects gold and silver from crushed ore in clearing ponds. But precisely because small-scale, such ponds have no proper drains. In Mount Diwalwal, for instance, mercury carelessly is let to spill into rivers, poisoning the fruit plantations, coastal waters, and farm animals and humans in Compostela Valley below. Enforcing the mercury ban will be a litmus test for the government’s new mining policy.
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