SURIGAO CITY – While the mining industry is booming in the Caraga Region, the strict implementation on mining laws, rules and regulations is also thoroughly regulated by the government’s Mines and Geoscience Bureau (MGB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

Alilio Ensomo, Region 13 office of the MGB director, said more mining and technical engineers will be deployed to all mining plants and operations in an effort to implement all mining laws not only to the workers but to all local communities where mining operations are conducted.

At least 64 mining companies, 16 of them have a 25-year mineral resources agreement with the government, are already operating at various places in the region, especially in Surigao del Norte where the bulk of mining operations is located.

“Our technical men are zeroing on the operations of these companies for the safety of the workers and villages around the operational plan of these firms,” stressed Ensomo.

He also said that the mining groups in the region also “pledged and committed” to adhere to all the rules and regulations of the mining laws.

Ensomo said this commitment was issued during the election of the new set of officers of the Philippine Society of Mining Engineers – Caraga Chapter (PSEM), and the Caraga Mine Safety and Health Committee (CMSHC), along with the Chamber of Mines of Caraga Region, Incorporated (CMCRI) over the weekend at a downtown hotel and convention center here.