Gov’t issues new guidelines for mining companies

The Environment department has issued an order that will strictly enforce mining rules, while cutting the processing time for new exploration permits by five more weeks to 10 weeks, in line with government efforts to revive the mining industry. Under the order, renewing an exploration permit for the first or second time will also take not more than 15 days, the agency said in a statement on Tuesday. Meanwhile, contracts given to companies that fail to start the three-year development work will be cancelled by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau. The bureau will also conduct field inspections before commissioning a mining project. It will assign a resident inspector for every mining project to monitor compliance with the contracts. Mining contractors and operators must now follow standard reporting for mineral exploration results, mineral resources and ore reserves. Environment Secretary Horacio Ramos said the new reporting guidelines are pursuant to the Philippine Mineral Reporting Code and global reporting standards for mining activities. The rules further state that the government would only reject mining applications if a miner’s request for "free and prior informed consent" from concerned indigenous groups is rejected by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP). — NPA, GMANews.TV