Following government’s move lifting the moratorium on new mining deals, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said pending applications are not automatically approved.
The DENR cited the possibility of imposing new requirements once Executive Order (EO) 130, the directive of President lifting the ban, is fully implemented.
“It is also possible that new requirements will come up based on the newly-issued order.
The MGB (Mines and Geosciences Bureau)-DENR-Department of Finance (DOF) Working Group is set to convene to draft the implementing rules and regulations of EO 130,” said DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu, in a statement.
Mining is one of the most-heavily regulated industries with a host of requirements before, during and post operations.
EO 130 also mandates the DENR to formulate terms and conditions in new mineral agreements that can maximize government revenues and share from production,
The DENR can review existing contracts for a possible renegotiation of mutually acceptable terms.
The EO has also tasked the DENR and the DOF to rationalize existing revenue sharing schemes and mechanisms.
Under current rules, applicants for mining projects are required to submit final exploration reports validated by the MGB to show the planned mining sites have at least a 10-year mine life or commercial extraction life for metallic minerals and seven years for non-metallic.
Miners also need to submit a mining feasibility study that would show the cost of developing the mine can cover expenses for mining operation including operating cost, administration overhead and milling if there is a processing plant, environmental, social development as well as and safety and health costs.
The application will not be approved if it shows “less than ideal returns.”
Cimatu said companies should have the financial capability to pay for the national and local taxes, royalties, local government fees, other national government fees and interest and charges on loans.
He added applicants must also prove the benefits of the mining operation, which is a national interest, will far outweigh the risks from adverse environmental effects.
Mining companies are prohibited from developing or opening new areas until the mined-out areas have been progressively rehabilitated with rehabilitation areas to have a desired slope of not more than 45 degrees and equipped with proper drainages apart from the establishment of buffer zones or no mining zones to provide a buffer between the mining operations and rivers or other important structures.
Mining companies are also required to establish a progressive rehabilitation fund with a minimum amount of P5 million, as well as pay the mine waste and tailings fee based on the amount of tonnage of mine wastes and tailings that the company generates every semester.
Mining firms also have to deposit the initial fund or an average of 8 percent of the cost of the final mine rehabilitation and decommissioning plan even before the mines can start commercial operation.
The DENR said the MGB has so far issued 309 mineral production sharing agreements (MPSAs) all over the country.
Of that, bulk or 51 MPSAs are in Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, and Dinagat Islands in Caraga.
Meanwhile, 40 MPSAs are in Zambales , 36 in Calabarzon, 32 in Central Visayas, 26 in Bicol region, and 19 in Samar and Leyte (Western Visayas).
Another 18 MPSAs are issued in Davao Region that are mostly inside and surrounding the Diwalwal mineral reservation while the rest of the MPSAs are spread in other regions.
