Government mulls initial public offering for NRMDC

The government may opt to do an initial public offering (IPO) for the National Resources and Mining Development Corp. (NRMDC) instead of conducting a bidding for the government-owned mining firm’s Mt. Diwalwal operations.

This was learned from Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Angelo Reyes who said it may take about six months to a a year for the government to clean up the currently chaotic operations at the Mt. Diwalwal site in Monkayo, Compostela Valley, Davao del Norte.

Reyes said, the cleanup, will have to address the security problem and deal with the estimated 40,000 small-scale miners and other environmental and safety issues.

After the cleanup, Reyes said, the government could then decide to proceed with the postponed bidding or “try to operate it ourselves for a while and then go through an IPO.”

Reyes said he has already instructed the NRMDC to prepare a study on the best option for the government. The DENR had earlier planned to bid out the concession to operate the 8,100-hectare gold-rich Mt. Diwalwal site with at least four foreign firms expressing interest in participating in the bidding.

The interested bidders were the Chinese firm ZTE International, RT Mineral Resources, Inc., CITIC-UAAP Investment Corp., and the South African Harmony Gold Mines.

However, strong opposition from the 21 small-scale mining cooperatives operating at the site has forced the Arroyo administration to go slow on its previous plans.

Small-scale miners want the government to give them preference in operating the concession.

Government estimates that there are still about $18 billion worth of gold reserves remaining in Mt. Diwalwal.