Mindanao is important to mining industry, says MGB chief

Out of the 397 mining contracts and permits issued by the government as of April 2013, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau said Monday that 31 percent or 123 are in Mindanao, including 106 out of 339 mineral production sharing agreements.

 

Also, 16 exploration permits out of 52 and 1 financial or technical assistance agreements were all based in Mindanao. 

 

"The figures on operating metallic mines are more interesting for Mindanao," Mines Bureau executive director Leo Jasareno told the Chamber of Mines during a mining forum in Quezon City 

 

Out of the 38 operating metallic mines of the country, as of May 2013, 20 or 53 percent are in Mindanao.

 

"When the MGB started accepting mining applications on March 18, 2013, after a moratorium of about 2 years, 16 exploration permit applications or 29 percent of the 56 accepted so far are situated in Mindanao," noted Jasareno.

 

"The numbers clearly demonstrate the very important role of Mindanao in the Philippines minerals industry today," Jasareno told reporters on the sidelines of the first “Mining Forum: The Mindanao mining agenda: Socio-economic Transformation.”

 

At the forum, Mai Dalena Samling, a female tribal chieftain of the B’laan in Tampakan, South Cotabato said tribe members were already benefiting from the presence of the Sagittarius Mines Inc. the proponent of the $5.9 billion Tampakan copper-gold project in South Cotabato.

  

“Without it, may be our children would not be able to go to school until now. There will still be no roads, no water, or health centers,” Samling noted.

 

SMI is the holder of the financial and or technical assistance agreement since 1995.  

 

SMI was given a conditional environmental clearance certificate (ECC) by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) early this year. 

 

Jasareno said the of the five major mining projects in the making, three are in Mindanao, including the SMI Tampakan copper-gold project, the Boyongan-Bayugo copper gold project led by Philex Mining Corp. in Surigao del Norte and the Kingking copper-gold project of Nationwide Development Corp. in Compostella Valley.

 

The Mines Bureau expects some 1,200 new permit applications for the 1,218 areas now opened to mining.

 

With the moratorium on new mining applications lifted, Jasareno said investments will likely surpass the $718 million target for the year and may even reach $1 billion. The higher number is achievable, he added.

 

“We expect more investments to come this year with the lifting of the moratorium,” he added. — VS, GMA News