Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Corporation received the sole gold Cross-Cutting Award at the inaugural Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) Excellence Awards, recognizing its overall implementation of responsible mining principles.
The recognition was among seven awards earned by Nickel Asia Corporation’s subsidiaries Rio Tuba and Taganito Mining Corporation during the October 27 ceremony at Conrad Manila in Pasay City.
The ceremony formed part of the Mining Philippines International Conference and Exhibition, organized by the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP).
The Cross-Cutting Awards assessed companies based on overall excellence, leadership in sustainable mining, innovation in sustainability systems, and community trust.
“We are here to recognize the companies that don’t just talk about responsible mining as a goal, but live it every day through decisions they make, the systems they build, and the standards they uphold,” COMP Chairman Michael Toledo said in his welcome remarks.
Rio Tuba received four gold awards. Apart from the Cross-Cutting recognition, it earned awards for Community Partnership and Shared Development, Safety Leadership and Zero Harm, and Water Stewardship and Watershed Responsibility.
Taganito received gold for Community Partnership and Shared Development, silver for Safety Leadership and Zero Harm, and a silver Cross-Cutting Award.
“The awards show us that the Filipino can and will adopt the highest standards that you can find in the leading mining jurisdictions of the world,” Nickel Asia Senior Vice President for Sustainability, Risk Management and Corporate Affairs Jose Bayani Baylon said.
Baylon delivered the acceptance speech for Rio Tuba’s gold Cross-Cutting Award on behalf of Nickel Asia President and Chief Executive Officer Martin Antonio G. Zamora.
The awards were based on independently verified assessments using a five-point scoring scale. Scores of 4.5–5.0 qualified for gold, while scores of 3.5–4.49 qualified for silver.
The Philippines adopted TSM through COMP in 2017, becoming the first country in Asia to implement the mining sustainability framework, the release said.
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