MGB completes 'cleansing' of mining applications

MANILA, Philippines - The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) has completed the review and “cleansing” of all mining applications resulting in the denial of 1,606 mining applications all over the country covering about five million hectares of prospective mineral lands.

A total of 530 mining applications were endorsed for approval, bringing to 2,136 the total number of mining applications with final action rendered, or 97 percent of all 2,196 pending mining applications nationwide.

The cleansing process was implemented pursuant to DENR Memorandum Order 2010-04 issued in February 2010. Its full implementation covered the period Oct. 2010 to June 2011.

The objective was to cleanse the pending 2,196 mining applications in the MGB, which has an average pendency life of 10 years.

Many sectors of the mining industry have looked at this situation as an impediment to investments.

Serious mining investors can no longer find open areas because of the many speculative mining applications that have blanketed the potential ones.

Leo L. Jasareno, MGB director, said the completion of the cleansing process opens a new chapter in the country’s mining tenement system, where only high potential areas with no land use conflicts may be made available for development by serious and qualified mining operators.

Jasareno said that the DENR is now formulating the guidelines for the management of the re-opened areas, although at least 24 percent of the denied mining applications are covered by motions for reconsideration or appeals.