Australian-New Zealand mining company Oceana Gold has destroyed the isolated rural village of Didipio in the mountains of Kasibu in Nueva Vizcaya, a province of the Philippines.
Oceana Gold has operated one of six mining projects in the Philippines covered by the Financial or Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA) since 1994. Fierce resistance from villagers, legal struggles and the financial problems of the company meant it was only this year that Oceana Gold was able to ship out its first 5000 tons of copper-gold concentrate.
Thousands of trees from a big biodiversity corridor in the Sierra Madre mountain range were cut down to make way for a 765-hectare open-pit mine, replacing the mountain of Dinkidi.
Discovered as a body of ore by Australian firm Climax-Arimco, Dinkidi has disappeared from the peaks of Mamparang, a significant wildlife corridor. The villagers say that wildlife such as deers, wild boar and hornbills have already disappeared. Mudfish, snails and prawns can no longer be caught in the river, which has also changed in odour and appearance.
The villagers, from the indigenous Ifugao tribes, who used to plant rice in its terraced slopes or grow citrus orchards, are now living in wooden houses outside the gates of the mining complex and most are working as labourers. A handful of the biggest landowners sold the choicest parcels of land to the company and have left the area. One couple, Margarita and Eduardo Licyayo, said they had been cheated of their eight-hectare land in Sitio Bacbacan. Full story...
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Oceana Gold has operated one of six mining projects in the Philippines covered by the Financial or Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA) since 1994. Fierce resistance from villagers, legal struggles and the financial problems of the company meant it was only this year that Oceana Gold was able to ship out its first 5000 tons of copper-gold concentrate.
Thousands of trees from a big biodiversity corridor in the Sierra Madre mountain range were cut down to make way for a 765-hectare open-pit mine, replacing the mountain of Dinkidi.
Discovered as a body of ore by Australian firm Climax-Arimco, Dinkidi has disappeared from the peaks of Mamparang, a significant wildlife corridor. The villagers say that wildlife such as deers, wild boar and hornbills have already disappeared. Mudfish, snails and prawns can no longer be caught in the river, which has also changed in odour and appearance.
The villagers, from the indigenous Ifugao tribes, who used to plant rice in its terraced slopes or grow citrus orchards, are now living in wooden houses outside the gates of the mining complex and most are working as labourers. A handful of the biggest landowners sold the choicest parcels of land to the company and have left the area. One couple, Margarita and Eduardo Licyayo, said they had been cheated of their eight-hectare land in Sitio Bacbacan. Full story...
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