The copper mine south of town
A mining company dug copper on Balabac Island in the 1970s, then left. Decades later, researchers found the damage still draining into a stream.
Written from public sources to get this page started. We'll replace it with the story as Balabac residents tell it.
Balabac is known for its beaches, but for a few years in the 1970s it was also a mining town. Benguet Consolidated, one of the country's big mining companies, opened a copper mine on Balabac Island and abandoned it by the end of the decade.
In 2006, researcher Patrick Regoniel presented a study of the old site, about two kilometers south of the town center. The ground was still bare of plants. A greenish liquid ran from the site into a nearby stream, and a sharp smell rose from the soil.
The cause is acid mine drainage. When dug-up rock is left open to air and rain, it releases acid and heavy metals into the water. The study found no aquatic life in the affected stream, and people living nearby described health problems they linked to the site.
The study's title asks who is accountable. Because the mine closed before today's mining rules, it found no way to hold the company responsible for cleaning it up.
What we don't know yet
We haven't found a newer study, and we don't know whether anyone has worked on the site since 2006. If you live near it, or remember the mine years, we'd like to hear from you.
