Nickel producers urge government to shorten permit process for mining projects

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Nickel Industry Association (PNIA) – the country’s largest umbrella group of nickel producers – is urging the government to establish a one-stop shop that will significantly reduce the permitting process for mining projects to attract more investments in the sector.

The PNIA is discussing with government the proposed implementation of a “one-stop shop” program in the mining sector to fast-track the approval of permits, similar to the Energy Virtual One Stop Shop (EVOSS) System, which streamlined the permitting process of energy generation projects in the country.

The one-stop shop should significantly reduce processing time of permits to just six months to one year from the current five to 10 years, PNIA president Dante Bravo said during the Nickel Initiative 2023 conference yesterday.

“Discussions earlier with (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) Secretary (Maria Antonia) Yulo-Loyzaga is that we have to involve all agencies, at least identifying this as a priority project. The usual process that has been done for decades will have to be thoroughly reviewed, redesigned to become more efficient and really conducive to foreign investments, quality investments,” he said.

Doing so will support government’s efforts to grow the mining industry and level up to value-added processing.

“If we can sort of streamline all these processes and avoid duplication and identify that this is really a priority program…It’s a lot easier to convince investors, that you can put in a billion-dollar investment here…, you can be assured that over the next 12 to 24 months, your plan can be finished and start operating,” Bravo said.

Ease of doing business was one of the concerns raised during the Nickel Initiative stakeholder roundtable sessions and business conference that the industry group has been organizing since March.

“Mining is capital intensive in every stage of the operation’s life cycle from exploration to extraction, to value added processing. While there is a lot of interest in the Philippines as a mining investment destination, we need to convince investors that the business environment is ready and conducive for their entry to the Philippines,” Bravo said.

Bravo explained that while the government is focused on attracting investors in value-added processing, industry development efforts should include mining exploration and extraction because a nickel processing plant requires more than 100 million tons of raw nickel ore for at least 20 years to be considered viable.

“We can’t push for value added processing without mitigating uncertainties in minerals exploration and extraction because all of these are integral parts of the minerals development value chain. To produce the minimum raw ore input requirement of one processing plant, mining permits need to be approved efficiently and awarded contracts should be allowed to operate with minimal disruption under a predictable, rules-based regulatory regime,” Bravo said.

Bravo said other areas for reform that were flagged in the Nickel Initiative consultations include streamlining of fiscal regime, harmonization of national and local mining regulations, and monitoring and evaluation of environmental protection laws.