Long-term policies on mining pushed

The government maintained it would continue to pursue longterm and stable environmental policies that would focus on the utilization of the country’s mineral deposits.

In a recent international conference in China, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) said the Philippines is now moving forward to implement responsible mining and that mining projects should be technically feasible, environmentally compliant, socially acceptable and financially viable.

“Any of these imperatives absent, it is not the time to mine. The President is serious in having all hands onboard so that the mining industry can productively contribute in the total effort of seeing the country march to meaningful progress and development,” MGB director Wilfredo Moncano said.

He added that the government would now focus on policies on minerals and metal-led industrialization initiatives, streamlining of mining application procedures, MGB-led interagency coordination of regulatory agencies, strong community relations programs, and final land use options of mineral lands.

“To encourage more investors, we will clarify our policy issuances, cut down the list of requirements and documents and institutionalize the mining application process,” Moncano said.

MGB will also ensure continued availability and security of materials and commodities and minimize risks to the economic growth by planning and establishing a robust mine-to-metal value chain.

It will also revisit regulatory and compliance policies on mining and processing of metallic minerals, conduct an inventory and further exploration studies of the various natural resources in the country.

The MGB will also identify and determine mineral resources and its potentials, and craft laws to mandate operating mines to set-up their mineral processing plants in the country and discourage exports of raw ore.

“The government will address legitimate concerns, provide proper information, share perspectives of development options and ensure that mining host communities are involved in the decision-making and environmental protection and enhancement programs,” Moncano said.

Meanwhile, the government will encourage the local mining industry to work well and partner with the communities and engage them from the first day of the mining work to develop a sense of ownership over the mine and understand its importance in the development of the community.

“The MGB will continue to generate and share geologic and mineral resource information with the industry and that geohazard, groundwater resources, geology and mineral potential activities will be continuously undertaken,” he added.

The MGB chief, on the other hand, proposed several developments in which the China-ASEAN Geosciences Cooperation could help, including the exploration of Rare Earth Elements (REE) in the country.

Currently, there are no known REE deposits in the country. However, there are geological bases that show that REE could also be found in some “unique or special setting on mineral association.”

“China, being the recognized leading producer of the world’s rare earth supply, is in the best position to share its expertise in REE exploration with the ASEAN countries,” Moncano said.

He also called for the development of offshore mineral exploration technologies since all offshore areas within territorial jurisdiction of the Philippines is considered as mineral reservations.

No development is happening yet which can be attributed to the country’s lack of capability to apply offshore mineral exploration technologies.