An Australian mining mission is scheduled to visit the Philippines in the second half of the year, reflecting renewed interest in mining since the moratorium on new mining contracts has been lifted for a few years now, Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Hae Kyong Yu said.
Yu told reporters on the sidelines of the Philippine-Australia Friendship Day in Makati City on Saturday, a mining mission from Australia, the first in years, is being organized to visit and explore investment in the Philippines. The plan is to make this happen in the second half of the year.
The ambassador did not identify the companies beyond saying that Australia usually sends 20 to 30 company representatives with every investment mission.
In April 2021, then-President Rodrigo Duterte signed Executive Order 130 lifting the 2012 moratorium on new mineral agreements.
“Interestingly enough, as soon as the moratorium was lifted, the Australian Embassy has been very active in pursuing these relationships,” Yu said.
Yu added there is also interest in other sectors where Australia has a comparative advantage, such as agri-food, green energy, digital economy, cybersecurity and education.
She stressed, however, an area they really want to focus on is mining, since Australia achieved prosperity through the sector.
“Now, we want to work with the Philippines to help you really explore the mining sector in a way that is environmentally sustainable, in a way where the profits are shared with the communities,” Yu said.
In March 2023, Yu led a Philippine mission to Western Australia with officials from the Department of Science and Technology and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, as well as representatives from Philippine mining companies.
They went to Kalgoorlie, which is home to one of the open pit mines in Australia, known as Super Pit.
Members of the Philippine delegation engaged with the mining community, including indigenous communities, to learn how it is to work with a mining company while ensuring profits and extractive activities are shared with the community.
The Philipppine delegates, Yu said, learned a lot not only about how Australia does mining but also about Canberra’s regulatory framework.
She said the renewed interest of Australian mining companies came about when the Philippines lifted the moratorium on mining.
Yu said she is quite sure it is not just the Australians but that this renewed interest “is worldwide.”
In the case of Australia, Yu said it is because the Australians are good at mining.
“We have a track record in showing the Philippines how mining can be done so that it’s sustainable, it’s actually responsible, and the profits are shared with the community and with the country,” Yu said.
The Australian embassy is getting a lot of inquiries about business opportunities in the Philippines, both in trade and investment.
“And so you will be seeing more and more Australian investment coming into the Philippines and, hopefully, more and more trade between our two countries,” she said.
The idea is to help the Philippines achieve its economic growth objectives.
Australia has sent four business missions to the Philippines in less than two years. Australian business people were shown opportunities that are available in the Philippines.
One of the missions focused on transnational education, a C-suite delegation from 14 Australian companies, and another on technology.
“Those business missions will continue,” Yu said.
On its website, the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) said the Philippines was Australia’s 20th largest trading partner in 2023, with two-way trade valued at $10.2 billion.
There are now more than 250 major Australian companies operating in the Philippines. They employ more than 41,000 Filipinos in business process outsourcing, infrastructure, banking, telecommunications, energy and education.
A recent mining project from Australia in the Philippines, as announced by the Department of Trade and Industry, involved Perth-based Celsius Resources, which was awarded a mining permit through its Philippine subsidiary, Makilala Mining Company Inc. The Australian company obtained the permit for its flagship Maalinao-Caigutan-Biyog mining Project in the Cordillera Administrative Region.
This permit gave Makilala Mining exclusive rights to explore, develop and commercially produce copper and associated minerals within a 2,500-hectare contract area.
The mineral process sharing agreement with Makilala Mining marks the first copper project in the Philippines in the last 15 years.
