Copper mine landslide in Cebu leaves 4 people dead, 6 missing

Four people died while six were still missing after a landslide at the Carmen Pit of Carmen Copper Corporation (CCC) in Toledo City, Cebu occurred.

CCC said that a landslide at the company’s mine operation site happened around 4:15 p.m. Monday, December 21, 2020.

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CCC is an operating arm of listed Atlas Consolidated Mining Development Corporation (ACMDC) based in Toledo City.

The miner said the landslide killed four people.

“Following the statement regarding a slide incident at the Company’s mine operations site, as of 1 p.m. December 22, 2020, the Company solemnly regrets to inform that this incident has claimed four lives,” it said.

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“The Company continues its efforts to locate six more persons missing,” it added.

CCC the landslide may have been triggered by the rains in the past months and aggravated by Storm Vicky, which hit Toledo City last Friday.

“As of this time, we are in close coordination and communication with the affected immediate families and will continue to extend the needed support and assistance,” the company said.

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“We humbly ask the general public to exercise caution and responsibility in distributing information out of respect to the affected families,” it added.

Copper mine landslide in Cebu leaves 4 people dead, 6 missing

Meanwhile, Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Director Wilfredo Moncano said an official investigation on the incident is ongoing.

“The mine pit operation is temporarily suspended to determine the cause of the landslide,” he said in a text message.

Moncano noted that the copper mine passed the Mineral Industry Coordinating Council (MICC) independent audit this year and in 2017.

“Initial finding indicated that typhoon Vicky exacerbated the already waterlogged limestone and mudstone layer from the prior typhoons that weakens its contact with the intrusive rock base. This is the material that went down to the pit bottom,” Moncano said.

“A fault line called the Barot Fault was also observed in the slide area and may have contributed to the landslide,” he added.

Meanwhile, Carmen Copper Corporation said it is coordinating concerned government agencies to assess and address the situation.

“Meanwhile, we have suspended all activities in the mining operations area to ensure the safety of our employees and contractors,” the company said.