lafayette spill - independent review group

From today's ABS-CBN. Looks like a reasonable evaluation team.


Probe body created for Lafayette spill

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has created an independent review group to assess the alleged cyanide spillage by a large-scale mining firm in Albay.

The engineer Michael Cabalda, mining environment and safety division chief of the DENR-Mines and Geosciences Bureau, said the team will visit Rapu Rapu

Island, Albay, on November 30 to test the bodies of water on the island.

"The independent review group will look into the incident, its work will be more on technical assessment and to know what needs to be done and to make recommendations," he said in a telephone interview.

The group is composed of the MGB Bicol region, Philippines Chamber of Mines, Benguet Corp., Professional Regulation Commission and a representative from the University of the Philippines.

Cabalda said the team will use the "replenishable fund" of Lafayette Mining Ltd. to do the "independent technical and scientific" assessment of the spillage on October 31, 2005.

The DENR has suspended the operation of Lafayette, an Australian mining firm, following the spillage. The mine tailings spill happened on October 11.

Citing initial findings, Deinrado Dimalibot, the DENR undersecretary for mining and legal affairs, said that "what happened was an accident on the part of Lafayette although procedural lapses were evident."