The Philippine Nickel Industry Association, the largest grouping of nickel industry players in the country, said promoting predictability in regulations and ease of doing business are critical paths to succeed in accelerating the growth of the mining industry.
PNIA President Atty. Dante R. Bravo said this is a common sentiment based on feedback from the Nickel Initiative stakeholder roundtable sessions and business conference that PNIA has been organizing since March this year in support of government’s efforts to grow the mining industry and level up to value-added processing.
“Mining is capital intensive in every stage of the operation’s life cycle from exploration to extraction, to value added processing. While there is a lot of interest in the Philippines as a mining investment destination, we need to convince investors that the business environment is ready and conducive for their entry to the Philippines,” said Bravo.
Bravo explained that while the government is focused on attracting investors in value-added processing, industry development efforts should include mining exploration and extraction because a nickel processing plant requires more than 100 million tons of raw nickel ore for at least 20 years to be considered viable.
“We can’t push for value added processing without mitigating uncertainties in minerals exploration and extraction because all of these are integral parts of the minerals development value chain. To produce the minimum raw ore input requirement of one processing plant, mining permits need to be approved efficiently and awarded contracts should be allowed to operate with minimal disruption under a predictable, rules-based regulatory regime,” said Bravo.
To fast track the approval of mining permits, PNIA is discussing with government if a “one-stop shop” program, similar to what was provided to support growth sectors such as energy, can be implemented in the mining sector.
Bravo said other areas for reform that were flagged in the Nickel Initiative consultations include streamlining of fiscal regime, harmonization of national and local mining regulations, and monitoring and evaluation of environmental protection laws.
Enhancing environment protection and social development impact
Apart from discussions on fiscal and regulatory regime, the Nickel Initiative stakeholder roundtable and business conference also looked into enhancing the development impact of the mining sector’s environment and social development programs.
Bravo said that it expressed to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau its readiness to support its on-going review of Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programs (EPEP) as well as their Social Development and Management Programs (SDMP). “Any industry development effort should translate to sustainable economic development particularly to impact communities. PNIA members have consistently demonstrated how we deliver beyond compliance to uphold the welfare of our host communities and to progressively rehabilitate the environment,” said Bravo.