SuspensionI am very surprised. The worst I expected was a suspension of new exploration or a suspension of the open pit but that was due to finish in 2017 anyway. Lopez and the DENR are acting like morons. If she is not anti-mining she has a funny way of showing it. Having people from an anti-mining group on the audit commitee was just wrong. Doesn't she realize that the very worst thing they could do for the environment would be to shut down a responsible miner like Oceanagold at this stage? How would the environmentalists feel about thousands of illegal miners crawling over the hill sides like they do in the south? Why is the DENR doing to stop them?
The idiot Jasereno giving the presentation yesterday actually pointed out that there was vegetation near the tailings pond and that the pond is full of mining waste. Does he even know what a tailings management facility is? Would he prefer they cut the trees down? Is the fact that vegetation is growing around the TMF a bad sign? He showed the open pit and said, it was a big hole. Really? They showed a house with a cracked window frame and then claimed it was cracked by blasting from the mine. Where is the house and was the house even built properly? What did Oceanagold say about it or were they even asked? Give me a break.
Normally when something makes no sense, I say follow the money. It wouldn't surprise me at all that we find out later that somebody pulling the strings in the govt has a relative who is short one of the mining stocks. Or they have an interest in one of the miners not suspended and want to eliminate competition and have the nickel prices to go up.
Anyway, I think this shall pass....as OGC said, they are still mining. The employees won't be happy and will put the pressure on. The other miners (there are a lot of them) will not be as diplomatic as Oceana but even OGC could end up playing hard ball. Laying 1800 people off won't go over well and as far as I understand it, Oceanagold has not broken any rules. But where is the full audit report and does OGC have it? Very frustrating.....