The country’s value in metallic mineral production rose by a third in 2022 amid higher nickel prices and robust metal output, with the support of government policies, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) said.
Metal production in the country increased by 31.73% to Php 238.05 billion in 2022 versus Php180.71 billion recorded in 2021.
MGB noted that the mining industry improved due to the passage of policies by the government, including the lifting of the moratorium on accepting applications on Mineral Agreements, and the lifting of the ban on open-pit mining for copper, gold, silver, and complex ores in the country
The policies have “given a much-needed boost to the industry and have communicated positive signals to interested new players to invest in the minerals sector,” MGB said.
MGB added that the improved performance was achieved amid the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.
“We saw the pandemic slow down global economic activities and the Russia-Ukraine war affecting key markets, particularly energy markets such as oil and gas. These unprecedented events have disrupted the supply and demand chain of major commodities,” MGB said in a statement.
Nickel accounted for 49.39% of the total production value of Php 117.58 billion. However, the production volume of nickel direct shipping ore went down by 11% to 29.27 million metric tons due to production shortfall by most nickel projects.
Meanwhile, gold accounted for 38.21% of production, or around Php90.95 billion, as its production rose by 15% to 29,007 kilograms.
Copper accounted for 10.78% or Php 17.29 billion of the total production. Its production value jumped by 21% to 258,729 dmt.
MGB noted that the mining industry is seen to benefit from “the anticipated recovery of the global economy and the continued strength in the demand, particularly for gold and nickel direct shipping ore.”
“The recent lifting of China’s ‘zero covid policy,’ which slowed down the Philippines’ export of nickel last year due to stringent lockdowns in China, is a highly welcome development considering that China is the Philippines’ most significant market in terms of nickel and copper exports,” MGB said.
Furthermore, MGB noted that the push for the global transition of electrification of vehicles (EV) will “feed the demand for nickel, which is required for producing lithium-ion batteries,”
