MALOLOS CITY, Philippines – Unregulated small-scale gold mining is threatening the Angat and Marikina watersheds and is also endangering the environment and public health, according to an environmental group.
“Small-scale gold mining operations are scattered in different watersheds and river systems of the Sierra Madre” in Bulacan and Rizal, said Elizabeth Carranza, chairperson of the Save Sierra Madre Network Alliance (SSMNA).
“Since no government body has been monitoring these mining operations, miners are releasing toxic mercury into the waters. Mining also causes heavy siltation and erosion and increases hazards and disaster risk, especially to riverside and low-lying communities,” Carranza added.
In a report it released recently in collaboration with Philippine Pollution Monitor, the SSMNA said artisanal and small-scale gold mining operations are going on in major head rivers of three critical Luzon watersheds – Angat, Umiray and Marikina.
READ the full article at the Philippine Star http://www.philstar.com/nation/2014/07/02/1341290/unregulated-small-scale-gold-mining-imperils-2-watersheds
Text and photo by Dino Balabo
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