DENR slashes 5-yr mining investment targets

MANILA, Philippines - Mining investment target for the whole of 2012 has been revised downward to just $509.24 million from the previous $2 billion because of project delay. First investment targets from 2013 to 2016 were also revised following of the implementation of Executive Order 79, also known as the new mining policy.

Data from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) showed that investments of $349.24 million are projected for the second semester of the year.

In the first half of the year, investments reached $160 million, down from the $309.31 million registered in the same period in 2011.

A large portion of the investments realized during the first six months of the year – placed at around $30 million – were made by Philsaga Mining Corp., the operator of a gold mine in Agusan del Sur and Sagittarius Mines Inc. that is pursuing the Tampakan copper-gold project in South Cotabato.

Investment targets from 2013 to 2016 were also revised following the implementation of the new mining policy.

Investment inflows for 2013 are seen to reach $718.47 million from the previous target of $2 billion; for 2014, $851.75 million from $2.4 billion; for 2015 $757.60 from $2.9 billion, and for 2016 $619.50 million from $2.3 billion.

The new mining policy prohibits the acceptance of new mining application pending the identification of sites where mining activities would be restricted or prohibited.

The government is having difficulty delineating the boundaries of prime agricultural land as well as tourism development areas.

The granting of new mining permits, on the other hand, would be deferred until a law rationalizing the revenue-sharing scheme between the government and mining companies.