President
PHILIPPINE NICKEL INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION
GLOBAL FERRONICKEL HOLDINGS, INC.
Atty. Dante R. Bravo, a CPA-Lawyer, is an accidental miner, who finds the mining industry more fulfilling and meaningful in its contribution to society, workers and most of all, its role in environmental protection.
As head of the Philippine Nickel Industry Association (PNIA), the voice of the nickel industry, Bravo is leading an industry with the real potential of bringing huge dollar inflows into the country. Although recovering, the industry is still saddled with problems as it treads on the complex interests of its stakeholders.
PNIA
PNIA was established in 2012 to promote and develop the nickel mining industry in the country. As the single voice of the industry, PNIA champions the cause of its various stakeholders.
The association believes in responsible, sustainable mining and giving back to the communities that have entrusted the care of their land to mining companies. Given that the mining industry sector is a major backbone of the Philippine economy, PNIA believes that both the government and the private sector play significant roles as partners in developing this segment of the economy.
PNIA believes that the joint efforts of government and the private sector should be continuous and always aimed at revitalizing and developing mining in a manner that balances economic, environmental, and social objectives. PNIA also firmly advocates for self-regulation and sharing of best practices between and among key stakeholders of the mining industry.
It envisions to position this domestic industry as a globally competitive and responsible driver of inclusive and sustainable economic growth in the Philippines.
The association values – mutual-respect, integrity, leadership, inclusiveness and being proactive – to guide their work and how to interact with others.
“We believe that no one should be left behind,” says Bravo.
PNIA members include CTP Construction and Mining Corporation, Platinum Group Metals Corporation, DMCI Mining Corporation, Marcventures Mining Development Corporation, Carrascal Nickel Corporation, Citinickel Mines and Development Corporation, and Agata Mining Ventures,, Inc.
Environment protection
One key area where PNIA has progressed significantly is in the planting of more than 4.2 million trees as a result of the combined efforts of all its members. Again, they were able to progressively do this because they can plant trees even while they are still mining in the area where they operate.
To accelerate progressive rehabilitation, PNIA is now looking at bamboo trees as an alternative. Bamboo is a well-rounded plant variety that helps manage soil erosion, sturdy and it grows easily and it’s a source of livelihood for people considering demand for bamboo is growing.
Recently, the group signed an agreement with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to work on bamboo propagation that will be used to rehabilitate mining areas.
“We have a bamboo project but we’re trying to coordinate with Department of Trade and Industry and the DENR because there is a lack of hectarage for bamboo propagation,” says Bravo.
But Bravo said that mining companies are already in the thick of its rehabilitation program even before mining exploration starts. Companies are required to undertake community projects. The law requires that for every tree cut it must be replaced with 100 trees. Miners are also required to reforest it and double the area that they disturbed. This is part of a five-year environment protection program.
“Environment protection requirements have become more and more stringent and of course, costly,” says Bravo.
Recovery
According to Bravo, some companies have legal issues at the moment because of the government audits being ordered by then DENR Secretary Gina Lopez. But he also stressed that these companies have already gotten their necessary permits to operate.
So, if there are certain areas where they failed to comply, Bravo said that does not make them non-compliant at all, but they should be made to follow, correct and implement the measures required if their violations have been proven.
“For our members, we don’t have that kind of issues,” says Bravo.
“You cannot have a perfect condition,” says Bravo, who ranked 3rd in his class in San Beda and made it to the top ten in the Philippine Bar Examination during his time.
This time, however, under Secretary Roy Cimatu, the industry feels that the government bureaucracy is working. Bravo himself believes the mining industry is on its way to recovery with a seemingly level playing field.
“We are now recovering on several fronts as prices start to recover after hitting a low of $7,000. Now, we’re back to $12,000 to $15,000,” he adds.
The recovery, however, is still very tentative because of the policies of then DENR Secretary Lopez. So, there are still a series of validation. In fact, he said, the findings showed that out of the 27 mines, 23 actually have passed the validation unlike before when only 4 have passed after a series of reviews.
At present, only those within mineral reservations are being required to pay a royalty, but if the House Bill 7951 is passed into law all mines located outside and inside a mineral reservation have to pay royalty.
Bravo said the royalty issue could also spell the difference in the viability of mining firms because not all are similarly situated and as such should be treated on a case to case basis.
He also cited of the need for further information drive because it is not easy to understand the more than 200 regulations in the mining industry alone and there are different mining categories from small scale to large and there are metallic (copper, nickel, manganese, ore) and non-metallic (limestone, marble and basalt and coal). Others are engaged in surface or open pit, contour and underground.
“So, if you look at the entire industry, it is complex,” he adds.
The nickel miners now are also limited to specific area coverage depending on the scale and production volume. This time, the feasibility study has to determine which area and the extent of disturbance. There are also the requirements for environmental program and final rehabilitation program.
Processing
Like any other business venture, Bravo said, a capitalist will only enter into it if he expects to earn from his investments. This future earning will be determined by different sets of criteria like investments, the available technology, available reserves, and viability, among others.
At the current situation, he said, most investors still cannot afford a nickel processing plant, which costs a billion dollars.
“Assuming there is an investor, but the question is viability of the processing plant. Can you compete in power when our cost is triple that of China and Indonesia,” asks Bravo. Another factor to consider is the scale of production to justify local processing. This is the reason miners could not go into mineral processing.
At one point, Indonesia banned their exports of ore concentrates as they attempted to go into domestic processing when they promoted value adding only to lift the ban in 2017.
“So, viability is an issue,” he adds.
Ore concentrates direct from the mines are exported to China, which consumes 50 percent of the world’s total nickel production.
“There are other buyers, but at what price?” he asks. Australia and Japan are good markets, but the freight is a huge disadvantage.
The price of nickel peaked from 2011-2014 as there were some sort of animated activities during this period because China developed a new processing technology for low grade which was not seen in the 70s. This was also fueled by the sudden surge in demand from China for steel as they ramped up construction of sports facilities for their hosting of the Olympics. Prices of nickel then rose to as high as $54,000 per ton.
Support
Even with the economic meltdown in 2008, China still continued to import ore benefiting Indonesia and the Philippines.
Thus, during the time of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the administration turned to mining to help solve the country’s widening trade deficit. Arroyo promoted the mining industry, the BPOs, and provided skills training for OFWs and call center agencies.
By 2015, commodities prices collapsed because of the meltdown in China. Locally, there were also conflicting government messages.
Bravo believes that it is the government’s role to promote an industry. If it becomes a policy to support mining, it will spearhead the promotion of this vital industry.
“I believe that government, not the private sector, nor the non-governmental organization spearhead the promotion of this industry. If you don’t get clear support from the government then you have a problem there,” adds Bravo, who used to teach at the College of Law of San Beda University.
He recalled that then President Arroyo was deliberate in her support of the mining industry when she issued a proclamation to invite investors and include the mining industry as part of the Investment Priorities Plan of the government.
“That was the agenda – to promote the industry,” he adds. But this was cut short when her successor President Aquino issued EO 79 putting a moratorium on the granting of permits on new mining projects as government reviews the mining revenue sharing agreement.
This was followed by anti-mining sentiments by some sectors. When Duterte came into power, he appointed an anti-mining DENR Secretary.
“If you want to bring mining back, then it has to be positive and clear policy on all fronts,” says Bravo.
Once that government policy is clear, Bravo said the next step should be the creation of an industry roadmap that incorporates support from all stakeholders including the LGUs and the indigenous communities.
He also called for a mechanism to expedite the whole permitting process, which is taking several years to complete. He believes that permitting process can be shortened to one year.
The government is now requiring 50 percent share of net. But during the Arroyo administration, tax incentives were granted in terms of income tax holiday which was just fair because mining operations create a lot of jobs and opportunities in the surrounding communities.
Bravo, however, believes there is no need to bring back the tax perks to mining firms, just stability of the country’s mining regulations and firm government support.
Miner
Bravo is an accidental miner, who could not say no to his father in-law who asked him to help his best friend Joseph Sy, owner of FNI.
“Can you say no to your father-in-law? It is just like saying no to your wife,” says Bravo in jest.
Bravo was so comfortable in a community of accountants and lawyers at SGV where they would deal clients in a small group of 30. But the mining sector was different where he deals with more than 100 employees at a time, several contractors and different government agencies, local government units, collection agencies, the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the Bureau of Customs, banks, the HR department, and a whole lot of stakeholders.
“But, it is absolutely worth it. There are learning experiences that add to my credentials in developing my management skills, social skills. It was entirely different from a tax practitioner where the exposure and experience are limited. Here it is the entire gamut of the organization and the intricacies of the mining sector,” says Bravo, who started as a CFO to head of legal to admin before becoming FNI president.
He should be credited for his contribution in shoring up the company’s production and earnings. The company also invested in capital equipment like excavators, graders and road builders as they continue to refleet their vehicles.
As hands-on manager, Bravo regularly goes to the mine site once a month to meet up with contractors and to see for himself the situation on the ground.
“I don’t want to isolate myself so if there is concern I would attend to it regardless of position. Every employee is an asset that’s how we treat all of them. As long as you are employed with us, you are an asset and we consider that important,” he adds.
“If you have issues and something to contribute I welcome that, I don’t judge and discriminate and that value cascades from the management down to the middle and below,” says Bravo noting that during their consultation process he is not just the boss, who talks, but he listens.
A voracious reader, Bravo reads books regardless of topics, anything from fiction, economics, science, even self-help books because there are always lessons from reading.
Lessons Learned
According to Bravo, the most important thing to hold dear is the value of humility.
“Humility is something that you need all the time, but which is very difficult because as you acquire knowledge and grow more there is the tendency to believe that you are better than somebody else’s, then you realize that sometimes you are an idiot. You cannot always be better than everybody so the thing is to remain grounded, listen and think back. That requires a lot of humility because sometimes when you think you have the power and experience and always good at making decisions, but you need facts and people to consult with to come up with a wise decision,” he adds.
Among the captains of industries, Bravo would always look up to Mr. Joseph Sy, his boss.
“We are in this together, we co-manage this company. He is a visionary and I am on the legal and accounting side with a little of business experience to provide certain insights,” he adds. He looks up to prominent businessmen and studies their business, style and what they do.
But the greatest joy of being a miner is being able to help a lot of people from all walks of life. In an ordinary business, like trading, Bravo said, one can only have limited employees. In his own company, they have several workers and they have 11 contractors employing some 4,000 people.
“Overall, there are 5,000 people employed with us, and they are living a life because of us,” adds the leader of FNI, a publicly listed company and the Philippines second largest exporter of nickel ore. Bravo is also president of the various wholly-owned subsidiaries of FNI, namely: Platinum Group Metals Corp. (PGMC), Surigao Integrated Resources, Corp., PGMC-CNEP Shipping Corporation and Ipilan Nickel Corporation, among others.
As a mining company, Bravo said they are paying taxes and help improve their host communities, who benefited from their contributions. He cited their contributions for the CARAGA region and the indigenous people. Criminalities have gone down in these areas because people have jobs and have opportunities.
“I am not dreaming it, but because of our contribution these indigenous people are able to send their kids to school and make themselves productive,” he says.
They are able to provide longer term support to their host communities because they are not fly by night miners.
Vision
The vision though is to one day say this country has a solid mining industry because there is a recognition by the government to send the signal not just to the local businessmen but to the world of a strong government support because there is sufficient regulatory framework where communities benefit from, and a continuing improvement on how to protect the environment with best practices and technologies.
“We should be able to fully utilize these gifts we have in this country and that has to be supported to benefit the people and the entire country. It cannot be seen as an industry that is out there to take advantage of natural resources because that is not entirely true. When we open a mining concession, of course we have investors, employees, government, communities, exports, the whole value chain. That is how we should look at the mining sector,” concludes Bravo.