NEWSFLASH

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CITIZENS PROTEST NEW ABRA MINE

Bangued, Abra, Nov. 26, 1997 - Residents are against the operation of a new mining concession covering 16,200 hectares in Abra province. Most of the area covered are classified as ancestral domain, according to Mines and Geosciences Bureau regional director Neoman dela Cruz.

According to residents, the operations of New Crest Mining Corporation will adversely affect Abra River, their major source of irrigation water and a rich fishing ground for at least 13 of the province's 27 municipalities.

The Abra River is already threatened by mine tailings from Lepanto Consolidated Mining Corporation sites in Mankayan, Benguet.

Concerned citizens warn that the new mine might force additional hardships on Abra's poor farmers and force many of them to join the insurgents.

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