Digging deeper

The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (comp), which I had the honor of chairing for the past three years or so, recently held a one-day forum dubbed “Digging Deeper: A Mining Philippines Policy Forum” that sought to bring together the nation’s top industry leaders, investors, analysts and professionals into a single venue, to learn, discuss, and collaborate on critical industry issues, all aimed at shaping “a dynamic and sustainable mining industry in the Philippines.”

Originally launched in 2019,the forum was created to “foster meaningful discussions that connect industry expertise with actionable, real-world solutions for the mining industry.”

This year, the forum featured in-depth analysis of key policy frameworks, including the proposed National Policy Framework on Critical Minerals and the Enhancing the Mining Fiscal Regime bill currently pending in the Senate. There were also sessions dedicated to improving the operational efficiency of large-scale metallic mines and tackling ESG challenges through the Chamber’s Toward Sustainable Mining (TSM) initiative.

As I mentioned in my welcome address at the start of the forum, held at the grand, spanking new ballroom of The Westin Manila, we dig deeper here precisely to further explore the complexities of those issues and to learn the developments.  We dig deeper to extract agreements, solutions, and actionable steps from our policy makers, and our industry movers and shakers. We dig deeper to find ways that would enable us to tap the full potential of our mineral-rich nation for the benefit of our country and people. 

In the last two years, we have been consulting and working closely to address those issues with Cabinet officials — namely DENR Secretary Toni Yulo-Loyzaga, DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos, DOF Secretary Ralph, as well as with Anti-Red Tape Authority director general, Secretary Nes Perez, our keynote speaker in the forum.

Last August, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. himself granted the Chamber of Mines the honor and privilege of an audience with him — the first time for our industry with a sitting President. For about half an hour, the President listened intently to our presentation in its entirety and expressed that he is fully aware of mining’s importance to our country’s socio-economic growth and of the issues that hinder the industry from attaining its full potential.  All the Cabinet secretaries I mentioned were present and told Mr. Marcos that their respective departments are already addressing our concerns and pursuing our recommendations. 

In our presentation to the President, we underscored that before we take the leap to value-added mineral processing the government is advocating — which we fully support, let me emphasize that — four key challenges that have driven mining investors away from our shores must first be resolved: 1) long-term policy consistency, 2) the long and complex approval process for exploration permits and mineral agreement applications, 3) business continuity risks from LGUs and communities, and 4) tax uncertainties and lack of adequate benefits to invest.

We also had a laundry list of recommendations that would be too long to mention here, but suffice it to say, only if these recommendations are taken and put into action, we told President Marcos, can we be able to produce enough minerals to feed the mineral processing facilities we aspire to build.  Only then can we really be a significant player in the global energy transition movement.

We know our recommendations are not simple and will take time to implement. Patience is imperative — after all, patience is one of a miner’s strongest virtues.

We were also very much aware that the Marcos Administration’s support for mining is not unqualified.  The support is not just for the extraction of minerals per se because of its socio-economic benefits.  Our government also wants to ensure that the implications of mining on the integrity of the ecosystem and on the livelihood and well-being of communities are addressed in a responsible, sustainable manner.

And, so, our keynote speeches from Secretary Perez, who tackled the inroads that ARTA was doing to streamline government processes in the mining sector, and from Secretary Loyzaga, read by DENR Undersecretary Dr. CP David, who also mentioned that a draft mining policy framework was expected to be signed by the President before the end of this month. This bodes well for the industry indeed.

The first session, which I also moderated, was on “Strategic Innovations in Mining Policy: Enhancing Competitiveness and Compliance,” and had the following discussants: DENR Head Executive Assistant Joaquin Loyzaga; newly-minted DENR Assistant Secretary for Mining Concerns and concurrent MGB director, my tukayo Mike Cabalda; and Atty. Dante Bravo, Chamber of Mines of the Philippines trustee, Philippine Nickel Industry Association (PNIA) president, and president of Platinum Group Metals Corporation (PGMC).

This session explored the National Policy Framework on Critical Minerals, highlighting the strategic importance of these resources for economic growth and national security. We discussed issues surrounding applications and processes, on LGU roadblocks and measures being done to address them, as well as on strategies to enhance the competitiveness of mining in the country by adopting global best practices.

The second session, on “Improving Efficiencies in Mining Operations,” was presented in coordination with our Knowledge Partner, Boston Consulting Group, with their Managing Director and Senior Partner, Anthony Oundjian, as moderator. Speakers were Lux Nallainathan from Singapore and Adrian Dimitri from Indonesia. Reactors were Engineer Euls Austin Jr., president and CEO of Philex Mining Corporation, and engineer Robert Francisco, mine division manager of Taganito Mining Corp. 

The discussion revolved around biggest priorities in achieving operational excellence, optimizing productivity while managing costs, technological advancements such as automation, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and data analytics, change management, and significant trends and challenges shaping the future of the mining operational excellence.

As Philex’s Euls Austin so aptly put it, we have to adapt to the trend of A.I., automation, and data analytics or become extinct like the dinosaurs. *

(To be continued)