The Philippines has indefinitely suspended the operations of the country’s largest gold mine after a waste spillage near a major river, officials said yesterday.
Philex Mining’s Padcal facility will remain closed until a government investigation determines the extent of the spill and why it happened, said Leo Jasareno, head of the government’s Mines and Geosciences Board.
TOXIC LEAK CHECK
“It is currently suspended indefinitely,” he said, adding that the inquiry would last at least a week and examine whether any toxic substances had leaked at the mine, near the northern mountain resort of Baguio.
There was a spill at the mine’s tailings pond last week after the Philippines was battered by heavy rains from Typhoon Saola, raising fears that toxic substances could enter major waterways.
DAM THREAT
Government scientists later concluded the slime and silt did not reach the Agno River and the nearby San Roque dam, one of the country’s largest.
Philex Mining vice president Mike Toledo said the company stopped operations at the mine when it discovered the leak.
“We will not operate until such time that we are certain [the tailings pond] is okay,” he said in a statement.
SPOTLIGHT ON PHILEX
Philex had previously insisted the spillage consisted only of water and sediment, which were “non-toxic and biodegradable.”
The accident came amid intense public debate about the mining industry in the Philippines, which is believed to have some of the biggest mineral reserves in the world.
MINING WEALTH
However the wealth remains largely untapped, partly because of a strong anti-mining movement, while poor infrastructure and security concerns have also kept investors away.
Anna Bhobho, a 31-year-old housewife from rural Zimbabwe, was once a silent observer in her home, excluded from financial and family decisionmaking in the deeply patriarchal society. Today, she is a driver of change in her village, thanks to an electric tricycle she owns. In many parts of rural sub-Saharan Africa, women have long been excluded from mainstream economic activities such as operating public transportation. However, three-wheelers powered by green energy are reversing that trend, offering financial opportunities and a newfound sense of importance. “My husband now looks up to me to take care of a large chunk of expenses,
SECTOR LEADER: TSMC can increase capacity by as much as 20 percent or more in the advanced node part of the foundry market by 2030, an analyst said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to lead its peers in the advanced 2-nanometer process technology, despite competition from Samsung Electronics Co and Intel Corp, TrendForce Corp analyst Joanne Chiao (喬安) said. TSMC’s sophisticated products and its large production scale are expected to allow the company to continue dominating the global 2-nanometer process market this year, Chiao said. The world’s largest contract chipmaker is scheduled to begin mass production of chips made on the 2-nanometer process in its Hsinchu fab in the second half of this year. It would also hold a ceremony on Monday next week to
TECH CLUSTER: The US company’s new office is in the Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City, a new AI industry base and cybersecurity hub in southern Taiwan US chip designer Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) yesterday launched an office in Tainan’s Gueiren District (歸仁), marking a significant milestone in the development of southern Taiwan’s artificial intelligence (AI) industry, the Tainan City Government said in a statement. AMD Taiwan general manager Vincent Chern (陳民皓) presided over the opening ceremony for the company’s new office at the Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City (沙崙智慧綠能科學城), a new AI industry base and cybersecurity hub in southern Taiwan. Facilities in the new office include an information processing center, and a research and development (R&D) center, the Tainan Economic Development Bureau said. The Ministry
ADVERSARIES: The new list includes 11 entities in China and one in Taiwan, which is a local branch of Chinese cloud computing firm Inspur Group The US added dozens of entities to a trade blacklist on Tuesday, the US Department of Commerce said, in part to disrupt Beijing’s artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced computing capabilities. The action affects 80 entities from countries including China, the United Arab Emirates and Iran, with the commerce department citing their “activities contrary to US national security and foreign policy.” Those added to the “entity list” are restricted from obtaining US items and technologies without government authorization. “We will not allow adversaries to exploit American technology to bolster their own militaries and threaten American lives,” US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said. The entities
RSS