Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Angelo T. Reyes is set to hear the project presentation of 17 companies eyeing to explore gold, copper, iron, chromite and other mineral resources in various parts of the country, it was announced Wednesday.

The project presentation is seen to pave the way for the granting of 10 Mineral Production Sharing Agreements (MPSA) and seven Exploration Permits (EP). These permits, if granted, will cover areas in Surigao del Norte, Batangas, Ilocos Sur, Cebu, Southern Leyte, Misamis Oriental, Bulacan and Rizal.

Reyes has required the project presentation in a bid to determine serious investors and weed out speculators, and assess the corporate social and environmental policies of the companies, amid the influx of interests in mineral resources development in the Philippines by various local and foreign companies.

“We would like to ensure that only companies that can afford the social and environmental costs of mining would be allowed to operate,” Reyes said.

In the project presentation, the companies are expected to disclose their credentials and track records, particularly their financial and technical capabilities to undertake responsible mining, and their social preparation and environmental protection programs. Reyes is placing a premium on the social license to operate as a mandatory prerequisite in allowing a mining project in the country.

Four of the companies that are scheduled to present their projects are either partly foreign-owned or with foreign partners, namely: MRL Gold Phils., Inc. (99.99% Canadian); Egerton Gold Phils., Inc. (40% Australian); Buena Suerte Mining Corp. (40% Australian) and Manila Mining Corp.-Anglo American.

The other companies are: Colossal Mining Corp.; Hard Rock Mineral Trading, Inc.; Montalban Millex Aggregates Corp.; Fastem Construction, Inc.; Kimhee Realty Corp.; TMC International Corp.; Itawes Mining Exploration Company; Norweah Metals and Minerals, Inc.; and Ninety Niners Dev’t. Corp., which is 40% British. One mining applicant is a Filipino individual named Epetacio D. Beltran.

All proposed projects are for the search for economic mineral resources only.

Reyes made the announcement as he reiterated the government’s policy to promote responsible mining as a catalyst to economic development and poverty alleviation.

"The economy and the Filipino people, in general, will surely benefit if these 17 projects will ripen to full blown mining operation. Aside from taxes to be generated, these mining companies can also provide opportunities for employment and social development, particularly in the countryside," Reyes said.

He said an initial amount of about P228.5 million for the next two years is expected to be spent by the mining companies on the ground in the search for economic mineral resources.

September 28, 2006