DENR sees good signs for mining sector

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources sees good prospects ahead for the Philippine mining industry.

DENR Undersecretary for Mining and Legal Affairs Deinrado Simon D. Dimalibot expressed confidence that the industry’s target of generating $6 billion for 23 priority mining projects by 2010 will be met.

"Last year, we generated investments of $500 million from four mines, which are only in the exploration or pre-feasibility stages," he said. "We expect more investments on the fourth and fifth year, when most of the mines are already in operation."

The Philippines has become a prime option for mining investments because of its strategic location near such big Asian markets as China, Japan, South Korea and India. It would be very expensive for these countries to source their mineral requirements from South America, where some of the world’s biggest mines are located, because of the transportation cost, the DENR official explained.

According to Dimalibot, the governments of India, China, Japan, Australia and Canada all want to sign agreements with the Philippines to undertake a mineral assessment of the entire country. He said that out of a total of nine million hectares of potential mining areas, only 200,000 hectares – or 2.9 percent – have mining claims to date.

"Australia and Canada placed their bets on the Philippines a long time ago," he said. "They not only have technical expertise – they are also adept at raising funds. On the other hand, China is a new but very aggressive player. After all, it is the world’s biggest market."

An advocate of sustainable development, Dimalibot stressed that both the government and the private sector have to comply with Philippine laws, which have ample provisions to safeguard the environment. For instance, every investor has to come up with an environmental protection and enhancement program. A mining company also has to have a mine closure fund – computed on the basis of several factors, including the duration and magnitude of mining operations – in place upon the start of commercial drilling.

Dimalibot lauded investors, both foreign and local, for displaying a high level of environmental consciousness and social responsibility, on top of their topnotch technical know how. The massive investments that mining companies have poured in even prior to actual operations, he pointed out, show how committed they are to the project. He cited the Tampakan Project of Saguittarius Mines, Inc. (SMI) in southern Mindanao, which has allocated more than $20 million for a pre-feasibility study.

"SMI is not yet required to help the community, but it is already investing a lot for community development," Dimalibot added.

Aside from employing B’laan folk, SMI is subsidizing the education of more than 2,400 scholars, as well as rehabilitating schoolhouses and augmenting teachers’ salaries, at a cost of almost P5 million annually.

"Our life has somehow been quite different with the coming of SMI," the scholars said in a recent manifesto. "Although on a limited scale at this moment, many of our elders and able-bodied men and women are getting jobs. We can now be sure that most of us will be able to eat daily… Livelihood and capability-building programs are being put in place. With SMI counterpart assistance, government agencies concerned are now able to reach us to deliver government’s basic services."

The Tampakan copper-gold project is located 50 kilometers north of General Santos City, a major growth center in Mindanao. The mine site represent the largest undeveloped deposit in the Southeast Asia/Western Pacific region with estimated reserves of 7.68 million tons of copper and 10.05 million ounces of gold.