After suffering from major regulatory impediments for nearly a decade, it may take some time before the mining sector of the Philippines, one of the most highly mineralized countries in the world, to recover despite the government’s recent policy decisions that favor the industry. On Thursday,...
After enduring years of intense scrutiny under the Duterte administration, the mining sector is now at the receiving end of a series of surprisingly positive policy decisions and considerations. The government is now considering lifting the ban on open-pit mining method more than two...
The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) is working to secure a budget for the hiring of more people as it anticipates an influx of several new mining applications following the signing of Executive Order 130, which lifted the ban on new mineral projects....
Despite EO 130 The mining sector will remain under scrutiny despite President Rodrigo Duterte's recent decision to lift the moratorium on new mining operations, a top government official said. As a start, Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu said the government is considering imposing more...
The Philippine government has already finalized the updated Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA) with Australian-Canadian miner OceanaGold Corporation (OceanaGold) nearly two years since the major mining deal expired. MGB Director Wilfredo Moncano (Photo credit:...
The Philippine government has allowed the mining companies that were suspended and ordered closed by former Environment Secretary and late Regina Paz Lopez in 2017 to continue operating. Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Director Wilfredo Moncano said on Tuesday that the government has decided to...
The country’s metallic mineral production slightly increased by value last year as prices remained higher than their pre-coronavirus pandemic levels, data from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) showed. The total metallic mineral output in January to December last year rose by 1.13...
Mining operations within the Marikina River Basin should not be blamed for the massive flooding that engulfed some parts of Marikina and Rizal province during the onslaught of Typhoon Ulysses, the deadliest and most destructive typhoon to hit the country in 2020. This was indicated in the recent...
The Philippines’ nickel output declined in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but thanks to higher global prices, its full-year export value went up to P25 billion. Citing data from Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), Philippine Nickel Industry Association (PNIA) revealed that the country’s...
The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) has allowed mining companies to re-align their social development funds the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines. MGB has released a memorandum allowing mining companies to use their funds under SDMP and Safety and Health Program (SHP) for the purchase of COVID-19...
Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP), which is composed of some of the country’s biggest mining companies, welcomed the proposal of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) to further regulate small-scale mining (SSM) activities in the Philippines. But, the group warned that allowing...
Sagittarius Mines, Inc. (SMI) has secured the green light from the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) to extract minerals in ancestral domain areas covered by the Tampakan gold and copper mine project. During an Indigenous Peoples’ (IP) summit, Bae Dalena Samling, chieftain of the...
