100 NEW MINING DEALS COULD NET P21B—MGB

WITH the lifting of the moratorium on new mining projects following the signing of EO 130 by President Duterte, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) is looking at granting new mining contracts that could generate additional revenues and boost the economy within the next five years.

Mines and Geosciences Bureau Director Wilfredo G. Moncano said at least 100 new mining projects currently in the pipeline can generate additional revenue

of P20 billion in the form of excise tax and another P1 billion in annual revenue in the form of royalty tax.

These new mining projects can generate at least 42,000 new jobs in the mining sector which currently employs around 230,000 persons.

While the new mining projects can generate 42,000 new jobs, the employment opportunity from the multiplier effect of 4 persons for every 1 person benefiting direct employment will give mining hosts the much-needed economic boost, officials noted.

“In the memo that we submitted to the office of the President, with the lifting of Section 4 of E.O. 79, we estimate additional taxes of P20 billion and royalty of about P1 billion. Plus there will be about an additional P58 billion worth of export because most of the minerals are exported. We estimate 42,000 new employment,” Moncano said in a radio interview.

Under the Phase 1 Priority Mining Projects, there are at least 35 mining projects that are a step or two steps away from gaining their Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA), he added.

This includes the Us$700-million Silangan Project in Surigao del Norte, the lone big-ticket project likely to get the MPSA this year.

Under the Phase 2 Priority Mining Projects, Moncano said around 65 new mining project applications are in the pipeline.

Moncano said the impact of the new mining project will be strongly felt once the mining operation starts commercial production, explaining that mining’s gestation period is between 1 and 5 years. For a big ticket project like si lang an, he said the ge station period will take at least 5 years.

He said it will take time before mining’s contribution to the national economy could be felt but it will definitely impact on local economic development. Some municipalities, he noted, started as a 5th class municipality but eventually became a first-class municipality or even a city because of mining.

Moreover, Moncano said the lifting of the moratorium on new mining projects will also boost the small-scale mining sector, as he vows to expedite the processing of Minahang Bayan applications, which will boost the processing of small-scale mining permits by the Provincial Mining Regulatory Boards.

Environmental measures

WHILE conceding that mining has environmental impacts, Moncano assured the public the MGB will strictly implement environmental laws along with the mining law.

Currently, there are 39 Minahang Bayans, mostly in Mindanao. He expects more Minahang Bayan to be established soon.

“We have to admit that mining has an adverse environmental effect but we must also clarify that mining is a temporary activity and mitigation measures can be put in place,” he said.

Some of the measures put in place by the Duterte administration include policies requiring mining companies to secure the topsoil and subsoil which must brought back as part of rehabilitation.

This ensures that the minedout area will still be productive as the topsoil and subsoil are needed, particularly in agriculture as well as reforestation.

The topsoil and subsoil, he estimates, is about a 1.5 meter-thick layer of soil on top of an area to be mined. Before, the topsoil and subsoil are simply scraped by a bulldozer, leaving the area’s soil barren and unproductive.

“There should be designated topsoil and subsoil stock area. That’s part of an administrative order that we want to strictly enforce,” he said.

Also, Moncano said a new policy strictly enforces progressive rehabilitation and limits an area to be disturbed by the mining company during operation. “At any given time, the mining company will have a maximum area to disturb,” he said. He said by next week, a team of DENR experts will start working on the implementing rules and regulation for EO 130.