By Jhelyn G. Andal

The Provincial Board’s environment committee will soon visit Platinum Group Metals Corp. (PGMC) mine site in Narra after learning that the company has a new application for large-scale operations.

Board Member Gil Acosta, chairman of the Committee on Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, said that the visit’s purpose would be to see the current situation of the mine site which would aid the Board in making decisions for future mining matters.

Though the committee still has no definite date when to take the trip, Acosta plans to do it soon.

“The committee would like to visit the PGMC mine site but the area is still slippery. But if these coming new days ay maganda na, we will definitely go there,” Acosta said, adding that the visit would also affect the Board’s approval for endorsement of PGMC.

PGMC has an application for large-scale and according to Acosta, “going to the site will greatly affect our decision in the committee level.”

“Going back to what they did before is a big factor for their application for exploration. How will they secure an approval for endorsement if their first small-scale operation was, in our perspective, not good?” he explained.

PGMC, during its small-scale operations, allegedly violated some terms in its permit including the transport of 282, 729 metric tons of mineral ores in two years despite the 50, 000 metric tons annual shipment allowed by the mining law for small-scale mining operators.

The company also allegedly used heavy equipment in its operation such as payloaders and graders which was not allowed for small-scale mining.

Acosta, however, clarified that if ever they might find some violations and would not be satisfied with the rehabilitation of the mined-out areas, the Board is not authorized to confer punishments.

“Our visit would only be purely monitoring for the future decisions of the committee. Activities after operations are anchored to the Provincial Mining and Regulatory Board,” Acosta said.