Prices of metals to recover by 2019

MANILA, Philippines - World market prices of base metals are expected to recover by 2019 as the current oversupply is limited and many companies are averse to investing in new mines, according to an international metals market expert.

During the just-concluded Mining Philippines 2015 International Conference and Exhibition, Julia Ralph, principal consultant of Hongkong-based market consulting firm CRU The Independent Authority, said the oversupply of base metals such as zinc, tin and nickel would not last long.

Other base metals in the market are gold, silver, platinum, aluminum and copper.

“Lead and copper global market prices will have a mild improvement,” Ralph said.

Ralph said mining firms have also been managing production costs as demand slows down.

Philip Romualdez, president of the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines,  said the government must help current and prospective mining projects and investors manage costs.

The government, he said, should ensure stability and consistency in mining policies and regulation especially in the fiscal regime.

Romualdez said the current moratorium on the approval of new mining contracts pending the legislation of a new taxation regime could lead to the Philippines missing the opportunity of taking advantage of the upswing in metal prices in the next four years.

“We have been talking about inclusive growth goals and we believe the Philippine mining industry can contribute a lot towards attaining those goals, but we have to be practical about the dynamics of how global markets and the economy work, like we have to have certain sound fundamentals for the mining industry,” he said.

In addition, Romualdez said the Philippines should have a mining fiscal regime that would encourage foreign investors “to gamble on large financial, environmental, and social costs needed to put up a sustainable minerals development project in the country”.

“Our country has the potential to benefit hugely from the recovery of metal prices by 2019 but we have to stabilize our mining industry with consistent policies and regulations so investors can help us develop our mineral resources properly,” he said.