DENR updates guidelines for mineral exploration reporting

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has updated the classification and reporting criteria for exploration findings, mineral resources, and ore reserves. Environment Secretary Antonia "Toni" Yulo-Loyzaga recently signed the new regulations embodied in DENR Administrative Order (DAO) No. 2023-05, which amended DENR Administrative Order (DAO) No. 2010-09 to enable the local mining industry to adopt improvements and updates to internationally recognized standards as outlined in the Philippine Mineral Reporting Code of 2020 (PMRC 2020). “The compliance of mining contractors, permittees, permit holders and operators, and mining applicants with the new DAO is seen to expedite the evaluation and development of mining projects, as a result of the harmonization and streamlining of the entire reporting process related to mineral exploration results,” the environment department said in a statement. The DENR said the DAO 2023-05 updated some terminologies, such as replacing “Competent Person” with Accredited Competent Person” or ACP to refer to an industry professional duly accredited by the Philippine Society of Mining Engineers (PSEM), the Geological Society of the Philippines (GSP), and the Society of the Metallurgical Engineers of the Philippines (SMEP), or other similar professional organizations accredited by the Professional Regulation Commission. It also replaced the terms “ore reserve” with “mineral reserve,” and “potential or target mineral resources” with “exploration targets.” In addition, the new guidelines took into account "modifying factors," which are applied to mineral resources to facilitate mine design and the last assessment of the economic feasibility of mineral deposits prior to their conversion to mineral reserves. These could consist of mining, processing, metallurgical, infrastructure, economic, marketing, legal, environmental, social, and governmental aspects. The most recent DAO included an enhanced or in-depth checklist of evaluation or reporting requirements that an ACP must take into account when writing a report on exploration findings, mineral resources, or mineral reserves. “Should any item in the checklist not be discussed, the ACP must explain the reason for such,” the DENR noted. Technical studies, such as scoping and feasibility studies, were also incorporated in Section 5 of DAO 2023-05, it added. The DENR stated that other adjustments also cover non-technical aspects of reporting items, such as commodity pricing and marketing, permitting, legal requirements, and sustainability considerations. These non-technical aspects of reporting items include obligatory reporting of metal equivalents. “The latest DAO explicitly requires ACPs to prepare the necessary reports for public disclosure. Specifically, reporting of exploration results and mineral resources shall be disclosed by ACP geologist, while that for mineral reserves shall be disclosed by ACP mining engineer,” the environment department noted. According to DENR, the ACP metallurgical engineer should disclose reporting of metallurgical test works that form part of a feasibility study of a mineral project. “Mineral industry players will be given a transition period of two years from the approval of DAO 2023-05 to adjust to the revised guidelines.”