The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) on Thursday welcomed the proposed revision of the 2007 Philippine Minerals Reporting Code (PMRC) that would elevate local minerals reporting at par with globally accepted standards.
Speaking in an online forum on the Philippine Minerals Reporting Code, COMP Chairman Gerard H. Brimo said the revision and the discussion by industry players are timely as it came two weeks after the lifting of the nine-year moratorium on new mining projects under Executive Order (EO) 130.
“We, in the industry and those dependent on it for livelihood, are of course most grateful for this move. The investment community and the business sector in general also welcome this development, as it is acknowledged that the large-scale mining sector can contribute substantially to economic growth if allowed to do so. This is particularly critical at this time when our economy has been badly clobbered by the pandemic, so many people have lost their jobs, and government needs additional revenues,” Brimo said in his welcome remarks.
Under the Philippine Stock Exchange’s (PSE) Consolidated Listing and Disclosure Rules, a public report is required in accordance with the PMRC if it includes a statement on Exploration Results (ER), Exploration Targets (ET), Mineral Resources or Mineral Reserves (MR).
Public reports are prepared for the purpose of informing investors or potential investors and their advisers on ERs, MRs, including annual and quarterly company reports; media releases, information memoranda, technical papers; web site postings, public presentations; and corporate disclosures to the PSE. Listed companies are obliged to update and disclose material information to the accredited competent person, or ACP, even after the submission of the public reports.
‘Major step’
Martin Antonio G. Zamora, president and CEO of Nickel Asia Corp. agreed with Brimo that the webinar could not have come at a better time with the issuance of Executive Order 130, which the former described, as “a major step towards creating an atmosphere where mining can indeed flourish.”
“With PMRC 2020, our national mineral reporting standards will finally be on par with globally recognized reporting standards such as Australia’s JORC 2012 and Canada’s CIM 2014; hopefully, this will result in membership in CRIRSCO sometime in the near future,” he added.
According to Zamora, when national standards are seen to be on par with the best in the world, the investment community, in turn, begins to take greater interest.
He noted that PMRC 2020 would now feature performance indicators for Environment, Social and Governance or ESG requirements. “This is a timely, game-changing enhancement, which will surely result in the elevation of our industry’s reputation and the widening of the investor base for PSE-listed mining companies,” he said.
Brimo, however, believes that while the lifting of the moratorium has been noticed by foreign investors, their return to the country’s shores may take some time.
“In 2018, a survey conducted by the Canadian think tank, the Fraser Institute, ranked the Philippines in the bottom seven out of 91 mining jurisdictions in terms of attractiveness and stability of mining policies, and last in terms of investment attractiveness in the Australia/Oceania region. The Philippines was in fact not ranked at all in the 2019 and 2020 surveys as there was no interest from international mining investors that participate in the survey every year,” he lamented.
To revitalize the industry and set it on a growth path so that the government’s objective of increasing its contribution to the country’s economy can be achieved, Brimo said, foreign and even local investors must be assured that policies that will be put in place after EO 130 are proper, stable, and will not change in mid stream.
Lift ban on open-pit mining as well
Moreover, Brimo underscored the need to lift the ban on open-pit mining method as the lifting of the moratorium on new mining projects alone will not allow the industry to achieve its full potential.
“The ban on open-pit mining, a standard mining method practiced all over the mining world, needs to be lifted, as without this, the lifting of the moratorium on new mining projects alone will not allow the industry to achieve its full potential,” he said.
Brimo said that country’s competitiveness as a mining investment destination should also be a top priority.
“We want to be able to attract quality investors with substantial resources and expertise. We can only achieve that if the fiscal regime for mining is competitive, keeping in mind that we are competing with other mineralized countries for investments in this sector,” he said.
Meanwhile, Brimo expressed concern over the illegal mining operations around the country whose destructive activities are blamed on responsible mining companies.
He said the public, in general, does not distinguish between the large-scale mining sector and the informal sector, which results in an industry with a poor image.
Moreover, accidents that sometimes occur in other large mining countries and in other industries as well should not be blamed on the large-scale miners, saying that when such accidents happen, remedial action is taken and companies find ways to avoid their recurrence.
“With respect to the large-scale sector, it is acknowledged that our country has one of the most stringent mining laws, rules, and regulations that are being enforced to mitigate the impact on the environment and host communities, including progressive and final mine rehabilitation in order to restore the environment and determine alternative uses of the land,” Brimo said.
Brimo noted that the Philippines is one of the few mining countries that requires setting aside funds for social development programs, which are approved in consultation with our host communities and regulators.
“In most other mining countries, it is voluntary. The industry’s positive impact on host communities can be clearly seen in regions around the country where mining has been allowed to flourish, such as in Caraga and MIMAROPA, and in some municipalities that, despite their isolated location, have become first class municipalities as a result of a large scale mining operation in their area,” he pointed out.
Moreover, Brimo said the Philippines is one of the few mining countries that require approval from Indigenous Peoples if we want to work in their areas, with compensation before being given consent to do mining.
“We are also one of the few mining countries that require every large-scale metallic operator to secure ISO certifications on environmental management. Many of our members have gone beyond and also obtained certifications pertaining to safety and health, among others,” he said.
Yet, despite the stringent regulatory requirements, member companies of the COMP have agreed to voluntarily adopt the Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) program, a global environment and social performance standard developed in Canada that compels our members to operate beyond mere compliance by using global mining best practices, he said.
“We are in the first in Asia to do so. Australia, one of the world’s most significant mining jurisdictions, adopted TSM last month. I understand Indonesia is also looking to adopt this program. We have also subscribed to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, or EITI, to further demonstrate our commitment to the highest standards of transparency and accountability in business. The Philippines was the first out of 51 implementing EITI countries found to have satisfactorily met the 2017 EITI Standard for fiscal transparency in the extractives sector,” he stressed.
Lastly, Brimo reminded mining detractors to realize that people depend on metals and minerals for just about everything in our modern life. “The clamor should not be against mining, but against irresponsible mining. We are all for that,” he ended.
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