The second government-led audit of the Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC) this year will mostly target big mining companies which already passed the first inspection, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Undersecretary for Mining Concerns Analiza Rebuelta-Teh said.
A total of 17 mining companies will be reviewed in the second mining audit and according to Teh, 12 of these mining companies already passed former Environment Secretary Regina Paz Lopez’ mining audit in 2016.
Philex Mining Corporation, Agata Mining Ventures, Inc., Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Corporation, SR Metals, Inc., Apex Mining Company, Cagdianao Mining Corporation, and Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corporation are included in the mining audit based on a report by Manila Bulletin.
Other companies included in the said report which already passed Lopez’ audit three years ago are Century Peak Corporation – Rapid City Nickel and Casiguran Nickel Projects, Philsaga Mining Corporation, Pacific Nickel Philippines, Inc., Greenstone Resources Corporation., and Taganito Mining Corporation.
Aside from these firms, MICC will also review the operations of Platinum Group Metals Corporation, Filminera Resources Corporation, FCF Minerals Corporation, TechIron Resources, Inc., and Tribal Mining Corporation, Inc.
The second mining audit by MICC is expected to start this year and should take six months to complete.
It was stated that budget availability is holding the continuation of the audit. However, both the DENR and the Department of Finance (DOF), which secretaries chair the MICC, will release P 10 million each to fund the review.
MICC is allegedly going to hire the same team of experts who worked on the first audit to do review of mining firms’ environmental, economic, social, legal and technical aspects for the second assessment this year.
At present, operating metallic mining sites in the country is composed of 30 nickel mines, eight gold mines, three copper mines, three chromite mines, and four ion mines.
Out of these, 26 have undergone multiple actions such as reviews, suspensions, and closure orders from DENR upon Lopez’ directive.
The credibility of Lopez’s decisions was supported by MICC through its first mining audit which found all 26 companies failing to gain an acceptable score – needing minor and major reforms or should be closed down in order to have an acceptable operation.
