Mining firms and operations in the Philippines will undergo a strict three-month government audit to assess the environmental, economic, social, legal and technical aspects of the mining operations.
According to a Manila Bulletin report, Environment Undersecretary Analiza Rebuelta-Teh revealed that the second round of mining audit, led by the Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC), has already begun.
The MICC, co-chaired by Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu and Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, started the audit with Apex Mining Corp’s mining operation in Compostella Valley. Next on the list would be the Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Group.
For November, MICC hoped to cover big mining firms such as the Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Corp., Philex Mining Corp., Platinum Group Metals Corp., Taganito Mining Corp., Cagdianao Mining Corp., and Pacific Nickel Philippines Inc.’s operations in Surigao del Norte and Dinagat Islands.
For December, the audit will target the operations of TechIron Resources Inc., Filmera Resources Corp., FCF Minerals Corp., and Century Peak Corporation’s Rapid City Nickel and Casiguran Nickel Projects.
The last leg of the audit will cover the operations of Agata Mining Ventures, SR Metals, Inc., Philsaga Mining Corp., Greenstone Resources Corp., and Tribal Mining Corp.
According to the report, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of Finance (DOF) released P10-M each to conduct this survey. The inspections will last for three days, and the agency will need six months to assess and prepare the results that should be released by June 2020.
Mining firms in the Philippines, being one of the largest, untapped mineral reservoirs in the world, contributes 0.85 percent or P134.5-B to the country’s total gross domestic product (GDP) despite setbacks such as the imposed open-pit mining ban and the moratorium on new mining projects per Executive Order 79.
At present, there are only 48 metallic mines operating in the country – 30 of which are nickel, eight are gold, three are copper mines, three are chromite mines, and the remaining four are iron mines. Additionally, 26 of these companies have had overlapping reviews over the previous years.
Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc. President Dante Bravo said that the industry undergoing “too much audit” is now the new normal, and mining companies have to undergo three or more audits annually.
Apart from the inspections the MICC conducts regularly, the DENR also conducts two separate audits – one led by the central office and the other led by the regional office – all the while local government units and host barangays also require firms to present annual reports on their operations.
