EM153

Final Exam
Case Analysis (select only one but at least one group will discuss one case two groups can
combine to discuss the Philex Case)
Group Work
DUE: May 13/Friday before 6PM
1. General Directions
a. Read all available articles you can find from the sources indicated above
b. Summarize all facts related to the case. Either narrative or table form. Cite all sources of
information
c. Undertake analysis
d. Indicate the names of your group members
Aliza Marie Salces
Adel Nino Iligan
Adriel Matthew Montez
Jonathan Dilao
April Vince Baroro
J-kee Aquiles Cedeno
Vincent Adalim
e. Must be typed-written. No limitation on the number of pages
2. Structure of Analysis
Brief Description from Environmental Investigation Mission on the Impacts of the Philex Mining
Corporation (PMC) Mine Tailings Pond 3 Failure by AGHAM, CEC, & Kalikasan-PNE, the following were
summarized.
On August 1, 2012, a massive mining spill causing the release of 20.6 million tons of toxic tailings
into water bodies, occurred at the Philex Padcal mine, located in Benguet province. There was a breach
in the lower portion of its Penstock A which resulted in the discharge of voluminous amount of tailings
from the tailings pond into Balog River down to Agno River and San Roque Dam. In terms of volume, the
spill was ten times larger than the unprecedented 1996 Marcopper mine disaster. While the Padcal spill
contained less toxic material per ton of tailings, the much larger volume heavily contaminated the region.
The company said the "unabated heavy rains" for the past two weeks brought by typhoons
"Ferdie" and "Gener" caused an "unusual and heavy" accumulation of rain water in its tailings pond at
Padcal Mine. Philex Mining Corp. has been ordered to shut down its mining operations in Padcal,
Benguet, following a tailings spill caused by heavy rains. Plugging was done to the leaks of tailings dam
and mine's operations remain suspended.

a. State the problem(s).

1. Mine Tailings Destruction
2. Heavy Metal Contamination
3. Adverse effects on livelihood
The Balog Creek, previously categorized as class A river, as well as the downstream Agno River
were heavily polluted after the spill, badly affecting the environment, agricultural lands and local
communities whose livelihood were based on the proper functioning of the river. Elevated heavy metal
levels included zinc, arsenic and copper, the latter being 4.5 times higher than the allowed level [5].
Complaints over diseases in downstream communities increased [5]. People had to stop fishing, and later

on, fish catch was reported to be reduced significantly, while some people reported to have seen mutant
fishes [1]. Other NGOs described the rivers to be biologically dead [4;5]. Gold panning in the river by
artisanal miners used to be an important livelihood source, which was not possible anymore due to the
heavy contamination.

b. Relate facts leading to the problem

History of PMC Tailings Dam

PMC started operations in 1958 but it was only in 1967 that its Tailings Pond 1 (TP1) became
operational. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) records say that
TP1s useful life was only 10 years but Philex decommissioned TP1 only in 1981, stretching use
of the dam to 14 years.
Tailings Pond 2 was immediately commissioned in the same year after the collapse of TP1. In
January 1992, the dam walls of Philex TP2 collapsed because of foundation failure, resulting to
the release of 80 million metric tons (MMT) of mine tailings.
TP3 was constructed starting 1983 and was commissioned in 1992 after the collapse of TP2. The
company said that TP3 lifespan ranges from 18-20 years. Given the estimated lifespan and
capacity of the dam, TP3 should have been decommissioned at the earliest in 2010 but it
continued to operate in 2012 until the TP3 happened in August of 2012.
All PMC tailings dam were commissioned after the collapsed of previous TP

Summary
Tailings
Dam
TP1
TP2
TP3

c.

Commissioned
1967
1981
1992

Life Span
10 years
10 years
18-20 yrs

Decommissioned
1981
1992
-

Usage
14 years
11 years
20 years

Major Event, Cause

1981 - collapsed
1992 collapsed; foundation failure
2012 collapsed; heavy rain

Narrate final solutions/resolutions of the problem(s)

The Mines and Geosciences Bureau has allowed Philex Mining Corp. to finally
resume its operations in its Padcal mine in Benguet, roughly two years after the company
was slapped with a cease and desist order.
In an order dated May 26, 2014, the Pollution Adjudication Board (PAB) said the water
quality in the waterways affected by the spill is now within the water criteria required by the
government. After testing water samples collected from Balog Creek and Agno River from
March 14 to 15, 2013, the PAB ruled that all heavy metals and total suspended solids were
within the standard water quality. In February 2013, Philex Mining settled a fine of P1.034
billion imposed by the MGB. (Valencia, 2014). This is in compliance with the pertinent
provisions of Section 190 of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)
Administrative Order No. 2010-21, and the implementing rules and regulations of Republic
Act No. 7942 or the Philippine Mining Act of 1995.
In an article by The Philippine Inquirer, Philex Mining Corp. has restored Tailings Storage
Facility No. 3 (TSF3) at the Padcal mine to a level of stability where the company may be
able to sustain continued operations. The company on Wednesday announced that tailings
at the pond is now at 597 meters above sea level, which will enable Philex to prevent the

recurrence of last years accident. According to Eulalio Austin, Jr., Philex Mining president
and chief executive, the company plans to raise the tailings level further to 602 meters and
eventually to 608 meters.

d. If your Group was in-charge of addressing the problem(s), write down your step-by-step
approach to find the solution

Responsible Planning

Mine Tailings Management Plan

Within the general scope of the relevant guidelines and good practice principles, tailings
management should be planned, constructed, operated and closed applying a case-by-case
or site-by-site approach, taking into account varying climate and hydrology, topography,
geology, tailings properties and other conditions.
Our group would hire properly certified person in accordance with the national legislative,
regulatory and safety management norms that would be engage in the planning, design,
construction and operation of the tailings pond since the safety of the tailings depends on
individuals responsible for planning and design. Therefore such persons should be
adequately trained and qualified as well as certified, when required.
It is also important that for tailings management that pose a potential risk to neighbouring
communities and land uses due to their size or the presence of hazardous materials, the
provision of information to and involvement of these communities and individuals, in
accordance also with internationally recognized procedures, should be ensured for the
purpose of drawing up an emergency plan that the community understands, aimed at
mitigating the effects of possible accidents.
Our group will also draw up and implement internal emergency plans and apply them onsite whenever a tangible risk that a major accident may occur has been identified, when an
uncontrolled
event occurs that could lead to a major accident, or when a major
accident has occurred. We should review, test, revise and update the internal emergency
plans periodically, and always when there has
been a change in the mine operation
and management to ensure safety to neighboring community.

Monitoring

Our team that undertake the day-to-day operations, inspections and maintenance hold
the key to maintaining the integrity of the tailings. We should conduct scheduled routine
inspections such as a daily tailings line inspections, continuous or daily water level and
quality monitoring and look for deficiencies when performing other work in the area.
Our team should ensure as part of the inspection program that the technical services
department conducts an annual visual inspection of the perimeter containment structures.
The resulting report and recommendations, including identification of areas that need
additional monitoring, are issued to the appropriate supervisors.
If necessary, a geotechnical engineering firm is contracted to provide assessments and
recommendations for remedial actions or methods of operation required to ensure the dams
are stable. Scheduled environmental audits also help ensure that the systems in place are
adequate and functioning properly.

Water control

When too much water is a problem, risks include contamination of local waters during
rain events and precipitation-caused disasters such as landslides and embankment failures
in the Tailings Storage Facility (TSF). Our team strategies will focus on controlling erosion,
keeping non-contact water separate from contact water and providing adequate storage for
both tailings water and stormwater.

Community Involvement

The Community Involvement Program of our group provides citizens with an opportunity
to be informed of and involved in activities at the PHILEX padcal tailings site. Communication
and input from the affected community is crucial to the program. Our main objectives are to
encourage and assist local citizens in providing input to agency decisions that will have long
term effects on their community, to inform the public of planned and ongoing activities, and
respond to questions, concerns and conflicts as they occur.
e. As conclusion, state your opinion and analysis to answer this question: Was the disaster
preventable? Give a defense of your stand.
Yes. It was not the first time that incidents were recorded for the Padcal mine: also in the
1980s and 1990s, two tailings storage ponds collapsed, and another small spill occurred in one of
the ponds few years before the 2012 disaster.
While the company insisted that the massive 2012 spill occurred due to unusual rains
caused by the Typhon Gener, an analysis of precipitation tables has shown that the likelihood of a
similar rainfall to be repeated in the rainy season is up to 30%. Hence such known weather
conditions needed to be included in any responsible planning. Moreover, the tailings storage
facility was already past its designed lifetime and was to be decommissioned during 2010-2012;
but the company had decided to continue using it. Hence there is large evidence that the spill was
produced due to irresponsible planning and mining, rather than by Force Majeure.
Moreover, the Philex Mining area of operation is also criss-crossed by fault lines. The
most notable of the fault lines are the Albian and Sta. Fe faults. Thus, it is not surprising for Philex
gold and/or copper production to be associated with geo-hazard risks vis--vis volcanic or
earthquake activity. This already occurred during the Philex mining accident in 1992, when the
foundation of the TP2 collapsed.

Bibliography
Company websites
A little information about the incident was found in 2012 PMC Annual Report which is
available on Philex Mining Corporation Website. However, it does not justify the extent of TP3
breach or the impact to the community at large.
Internet sites
AGHAM, CEC, & Kalikasan-PNE. (2013). Environmental Investigation Mission on the Impacts of the
Philex Mining Corporation (PMC) Mine Tailings Pond 3 Failure.
CBCP-NASSA. (2012). The Philex Mine Tailings Leak Of 2012: An Independent Fact-Finding Mission
Report .
Miel, L. (2012, August 3). Philex shuts down Padcal mine as rains cause tailings spill. Retrieved May 8,
2016, from InterAksyon : http://interaksyon.com/business/39330/philex-shuts-down-padcal-mineas-rains-cause-tailings-spill
Valencia, C. (2014, June 7). Philex pays P188.6-M fine for Padcal mine tailings spillage . Retrieved May
8, 2016, from The Philippine Star: http://www.philstar.com/business/2014/06/07/1331869/philexpays-p188.6-m-fine-padcal-mine-tailings-spillage
Domingo, R. (2013, November 28). Philex restores crucial facility at Padcal mine. Retrieved May 8, 2016,
from Philippine Daily Inquirer: http://business.inquirer.net/154179/philex-restores-crucial-facilityat-padcal-mine

Vick, S. G., Planning, Design and Analysis of Tailings Dams, BiTech Publishers,
Vancouver, B.C.,
Canada, 1990.
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Environmental and Safety
Incidents Concerning
Tailings Dams at Mines, Mining Journal Research Services,
London, 1996.

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