MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Nickel Industry Association (PNIA) urged the Senate to reconsider its proposed five-year ban on raw mineral exports, saying the ban will hit small-scale miners the hardest.
The group’s statement comes after the Senate passed on third and final reading a measure banning the exportation of raw minerals to allow the local processing industry to develop. Senators patterned the ban after Indonesia’s export ban, when it stopped exporting nickel in 2020 and bauxite in 2022.
A working paper by the US International Trade Commission found that Indonesia’s export ban triggered a surge in exports of processed nickel products and an inflow of foreign investment in the downstream or smelted nickel production capacity.
PNIA President Dante Bravo called the proposed ban “ill-timed” and said it will discourage further investments and the development of the value-added processing (VAP) industry.