New mining applications pour in since moratorium lifted — Mines Bureau

Applications for a mineral exploration permit totaled 224 since last March when the Mines and Geosciences Bureau lifted the two-year moratorium for mining applications, the bureau said Monday.

 

The applications cover 154,587.8 hectares nationwide, which include 62,379.9 hectares in Luzon, 4,478.2 hectares in the Visayas, and 87,729.6 hectares in Mindanao.

 

During the moratorium on mining applications, enforced in January 2011 and lifted on March 8, the bureau noted 1,606 applications of unqualified mining tenements were turned down which helped pave “the way for the entry of a new breed of technically and financially qualified mining applicants." 

 

The government collected more than P47 million in revenues from filing and processing fees, the Mines Bureau said. 

 

Last February, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources also raised the fees for mining applications and the minimum capital requirements for mining companies. — VS, GMA News