CCTVs installed in gold-rich town in fight vs illegal mining activities
By Bong S. Sarmiento, www.mindanews.com
January 12, 2012
 KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/11 January)—Surveillance cameras have been installed in the gold-rich town of T’boli in South Cotabato in an intensified crackdown against all forms of illegal activities that threaten the environment in the area, an official said on Wednesday.
Siegfred Flaviano, Provincial Environment Management Office chief, said the provincial government is cracking the whip not just on illegal small-scale mining operations but also against illegitimate ball mill processing plants.

“The stoppage order on ball mills operating without permits will be implemented by January 15,” he told MindaNews.

Flaviano said the closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras have been installed at the only road leading outside the gold-rush villages of Kematu and Desawo to monitor vehicles transporting ores towards the ball mills, which are mostly concentrated in the poblacion area.

It was installed on the heels of the recent disaster in Pantukan, Compostela Valley, where a landslide killed 36 people in a small-scale mining site years ago considered a high-risk area by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau.

Two pairs of CCTVs, or four cameras in all that can take wide and close angle shots, were set up, he added.

These will monitor the ores transported out from Kematu and Desawo especially during nighttime, Flaviano said, adding the footages will help them determine if these are legally or illegally sourced.

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