The Philippine government identified the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) as its representative in the international initiative against the use of mercury in artisanal and small-scale mining of gold in the country.
In line with this, a launch was held for the National Launch of the Government Environment Facility GOLD Child Project: Contribution Toward the Elimination of Mercury in Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (SSM) Sector: From Miners to Refiners on April 11, 2019 in Quezon City.
The initiative with the Philippines and Mongolia is designed to address the issues of using mercury in the SSM sector.
The project seeks to provide a lasting and sustainable solution to prevent small-scale miners from mercury use and develop the sector.
MGB will attain the project’s objectives to formalization of the SSM Sector, open access to finance and markets, transfer of technology, and knowledge management.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the United Nations Environment Programme and Industrial Development Organization (UNEP and UNIDO) headed the said event attended by representatives from local government units having jurisdiction of target pilot areas.
A similar regional launch was held in the partner country Mongolia in its capital city of Ulaanbaatar last April 8 where the Philippines was represented by MGB.
