The Board of Investments (BOI) has been actively promoting the Philippines as a regional hub for green metals and mineral processing, targeting investments from companies in the US, Canada, and Australia.
By focusing on the strategic potential of green metals like copper, nickel, and cobalt, the BOI aims to not only export these materials but also add value through local mineral processing, strengthening the country’s position in the global supply chain and supporting its long-term economic growth.
The BOI defines green metals as metals produced using sustainable methods, intended for use in environmentally friendly and sustainable applications.
Global transition to clean energy estimates a high demand for minerals in renewable energy, electric vehicle, battery storage systems, and other clean energy technologies.
In an industry situationer on green metals prepared in 2022, the BOI said the Philippines can be a major player in the electric vehicle and battery supply chains by leveraging the country’s abundant resources of nickel, cobalt, and copper.
BOI executive director Ma. Corazon Halili-Dichosa of the Industry Development Services said in an interview on Jan. 23, 2025, that the agency acknowledges the potential of the green metals sector in the revitalization of the Philippine economy, with strong consideration for sustainability.
Dichosa cited a report of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development which said developing countries with vast mineral resources offer many opportunities but would need to go beyond merely supplying raw minerals and advance up the value chains to fully capitalize on their mineral wealth.
Dichosa cited the industry situationer which said the Philippines is one of the world’s richly endowed countries in terms of mineral resources, ranking among the top 10 in gold, copper, nickel, cobalt and chromite reserves. The country is also home to about 19.3 billion MT of non-metallic mineral deposits.
Opportunities are in exploration of mineral resources, value-added processing of green metals, development of new copper mines, nickel processing plants, battery precursor material production, battery production among others, the situationer said.
Dichosa said the agency continuously assists foreign investors in their due diligence visits to the Philippines regarding their interest in critical minerals, primarily nickel, for clean energy applications. She said the agency organizes meetings and links investors to potential partners from the mining and mineral processing industries.
What are green metals?
Green metals are minerals like lithium, cobalt, nickel, and rare earth elements that are essential for clean energy technologies, such as EV batteries, wind turbines, and solar panels. They support the transition to a low-carbon economy, and sustainable mining practices aim to extract them with minimal environmental impact through ethical sourcing, recycling, and lower-carbon processes.
The goal? A greener supply chain for a sustainable future.
Dichosa said since the launch of the green metals initiative in 2022, with a renewed focus on developing the mining sector and having more mineral processing plants in the country, the BOI approved, in July 2024, the investment of Sagittarius Mines Inc. as a copper producer. With a cost of P79 billion and employment generation of 1,550, the project will start commercial operations in 2028.
On Sept. 30, 2024, the StB Giga Factory, the Philippines’ first advanced battery manufacturing plant, was inaugurated at the Clark Special Economic Zone. The facility supplies high-performance batteries to both domestic and international automotive manufacturers.
Dichosa said another initiative launched by the BOI is the Master Development Plan for the Leyte Ecological Industrial Zone (LEIZ) in December 2020.
Dichosa said the LEIZ aims to be Philippines’ first ecological industrial zone embodying the principles of eco-industrial parks and industrial symbiosis. Anchored on the copper industry roadmap, the LEIZ aims to address value chain gaps in the mid- to downstream copper sectors by clustering related industries and capitalizing on the existence of the lone Philippine copper smelter in Leyte. The Zone aims to be a hub for mineral processing, especially nickel, by utilizing the copper smelter’s sulfuric acid byproduct.