Ipilan Nickel Corp. (INC), an affiliate of Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc. (FNI), can legally operate its mining project following the investigation sought by the Sangguniang Bayan of Brooke’s Point, the Mines and Geoscience Bureau (MGB) said.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, FNI said that MGB-MIMAROPA regional director Glen Marcelo Noble wrote to Brooke’s Point vice mayor Mary Jean Feliciano, saying that FNI’s mineral production sharing agreement (MPSA No. 017-93-IV) with the government remains in force and valid until April 10, 2025.
Under the MPSA, INC is allowed to conduct responsible mining operations in the Municipality of Brooke’s Point, covering 2,835 hectares, wherein 260 hectares are partially declared as mining areas.
The letter was in response to the Sangguniang Bayan of Brooke’s Point resolution calling for an investigation after claims that the alleged renewal of the MPSA in 2018 was without the endorsement of the Municipality and that it is operating without a Certificate Precondition from the National Commission of Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and a Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) clearance.
However, municipal mayor Cesareo Benedito Jr. wrote a letter to the counsels of INC, ordering the firm to stop operations sans a valid mayor’s permit, which ceased its validity on December 31, 2022.
Noble said that the MPSA did not expire on August 5, 2018 following the amendments made on April 10, 2000 to conform to Republic Act (RA) No. 7942 or the Philippine Mining Act of 1995.
In December 2021, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) issued an order stating that the effective date of the same MPSA shall be reckoned from the date of the execution of the amended MPSA.
Noble further explained that INC does not need to secure a CP as the requirement only applies to applications filed after RA 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997, was enacted.
Citing a letter by the NCIP on March 31, 2006, Noble said that INC is no longer covered as it was already awarded an MPSA four years prior to August 5, 1993.
INC, meanwhile, has concluded the process of securing a CP in preparation for the renewal of its MPSA in 2025.
MGB added that INC does not need to secure a PAMB Clearance as the MPSA predates the proposed final boundary of the Mt. Mantalingahan Protected Landscape (MMPL)
“We are awaiting the renewal of our Mayor’s Permit as we have already submitted the necessary documents and complied with all laws and regulations,” INC resident mine manager Alex Arabis said.
