The Bureau of Mines and Geosciences (BMG) regional office here Friday said it will look into further promoting safety of small-scale miners who are also known as "pocket miners" who rank among the workers promoting economy in the area through their excellent yearly gold production.
BMG regional director Samuel Paragas said the move would focus on measures to be adopted by the group which include their required permits and adoption of standard mining safety procedures.
The move came after the recent death of two pocket miners and serious injury of another in Kias, Tuba, Benguet when the bunker where the three were sleeping were suddenly crushed by a landslide emanating from a mountainside with an altitude of some 300 meters.
In recent years, the worst small scale mining accident happened last year with the flooding of a gold mining tunnel somewhere in barangay Luneta, Itogon, Benguet where 11 died and five survived.
During the past observance of Mine Safety Week in December 2008, pocket miners in the area who are from other Luzon provinces as far as Aurora and Quezon reached a yearly average of combined earning of more than P100 million.
The industry is very lucrative despite of the extreme danger to miners that the BMG cannot at the moment altogether stop the operations of the small scale miners.
In fact, it was found out in a recent survey that a great number of present students here and Benguet province are sent to school by parents with this kind of livelihood.
Besides, in the latest mining tragedy in Itogon town, the survivors admitted their gold mining earnings were enough for payment of placement fees, airplane ticket and other expenses who have gone abroad. (PNA)
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