BUSINESS ♦ DENR, MGB award Taiheiyo Cement for responsible mining in mineral processing
responsible mining in mineral processing
THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Central Visayas has awarded Taiheiyo Cement Philippines, Inc. (TCPI) the 2018Gawad Tugas for responsible mining in the mineral processing category.
DENR-7 with the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) granted TCPI the award “in recognition of having displayed and demonstrated innovation, ingenuity and investment in environment protection, conservation and management.”
DENR-7 director Gilbert C. Gonzales handed the award to TCPI chief executive officer and president Kazuhiko Ichizawa with MGB–7 OIC director Armando L. Malicse and Emma E. Melana, DENR assistant director for management services.
TCPI environment and safety division (ESD) manager Romeo M. Gebilaguin and section head Dwight P. Avila joined Ichizawa in receiving the award during the recent 4th Gawad Tugas Awards Night at Grand Convention Center, this city.
It served as the culmination of the 2018 Philippine Environment Month celebration that had a string of activities that included tree planting at the TCPI buffer zone in San Fernando town that various agencies and the media participated in.
TCPI earned the award a year after its materials supplier, Solid Earth Development Corp. (SEDC), also received the same responsible mining award in the quarry mining category during the 3rd Gawad Tugas Awards last year.
“It is a great honor and pleasure for us. I really appreciate your daily struggle and effort,” Ichizawa said in an internal message to TCPI and SEDC employees.
As he underscored that “our ultimate goal is ‘no negative impact to the environment’ at all,” the newly-installed TCPI CEO urged the employees to “continue improvement please.”
The company ESD thanked management for its unrelenting support and commitment to mitigate dust emission, citing the investment it made to acquire and install a state-of-the-art and multi-hundred million peso baghouse.
It also cited the production department for providing the necessary data during the conversion from an electrostatic precipitator (EP) and designing of the baghouse filter.
It further praised the maintenance and engineering division for having carried out the baghouse project from fabrication and installation until its commissioning with no lost time injuries.
“As we continue to build better communities, TCPI will always be in line with the principle of sustainable development where business exists in harmony with nature,” said Avila in the ESD circular to all employees.
SEDC president Dennis B. Tenefrancia noted the back-to-back awards with TCPI “embody the hardwork, discipline, commitment for excellence, perseverance and sacrifices we put in to fulfill our long-term commitments.”
“Responsible mining indeed is too important to even think of resting. We faced a lot of environmental challenges in our day-to-day operations. So does the world,” he noted last year when SEDC got its award.
SEDC supplies TCPI with high-grade limestone, silica, gypsum and clay, materials the latter uses to process and manufacture cement products as Grand Portland, Grand Pozzolan, Grand Premium and Grand Masonry.
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