The incoming Cabinet official in charge of Philippine mining has slammed the use of open pits to extract minerals, describing it as “madness” even to consider the method in the resource-rich country because of the environmental impact. The stance by Regina Lopez, an environmentalist who on Tuesday accepted President-elect Rodrigo Duterte’s offer to head the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, could set her on a collision course with the mining industry. “Open-pit mining as in the use of explosives is horrific for the environment. It’s a cheap way to…
New DENR secretary brands open-pit mining as ‘madness’
