As mandated by The Philippine Mining Act of 1995 and Executive Order 79 (EO 79), each mining company is required to have an assessment and rehabilitation plan of all the new mining sites before their permits are approved. As the task needs specialists and experts, Marcventures Mining and Development Corporation, Carrascal, Surigao del Sur partnered with the Environmental Science Department of Mindanao State University – Iligan Instititute of Technology to fulfill each requirement.
Objectives
After an area is mined, it is required to have it returned into its original status including flora, fauna and its environmental characteristics. Listed below are the parameters to be considered and gathered every 15 minutes from 8:00 AM up to 6:00 PM:
- Air Temperature
- Soil Temperature
- Soil Moisture
- Humidity
- Light Intensity Penetration
Sampling
All in all, 38 sites were sampled based on the parameters needed in the Objectives. Seven (7) devices were fabricated to cover 2 sampling sites per day. Each sampling site has three (3) devices with the 1 control device situated at the office for computation purposes. It took a month to cover all the 38 sites.
Since the area is remote, cellular mobile data and reception is less which is a hindrance to have the data sent via text message. It was decided to have the data saved into a micro-SD card. For the device to operate in prolonged duration, a solar panel kit is used.
