The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) granted a P416-million credit line to the country’s first large-scale offshore mining firm, JDVC Resources Corporation.

The loan will boost JDVC's local production of iron ore to meet rising demand as the global economy recovers, according to DBP President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel G. Herbosa.

“Supporting commercially viable and ecologically sound businesses is part of our drive to usher in economic growth in the country,” he noted.

JDVC is the Philippines’ first large-scale offshore iron sand (Fe3O4) mining company operating in Cagayan province.

It holds a 25-year Mineral Production Sharing Agreement with the National Government for a mining concession and commercial extraction of minerals such as magnetite iron sand, titanium, vanadium, and other valuable minerals.

Unlike onshore mining that involves heavy earth movements, offshore mining is done through the use of an environmentally-safe and ecologically-balanced siphoning vessel.

In short, it uses advanced technology to mine minerals under the sea.

No wonder JDVC was the first firm to be granted a Declaration of Mining Project Feasibility by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

The DENR authorized the firm's extraction and commercial disposition of magnetite sand and associated minerals in an over 1,902 hectare area in Cagayan.

“We are confident about the long-term economic benefits of this project," according to Herbosa,

'DBP ensures that its funded projects are always vetted in terms of potential environmental and economic impact.”