The mining sector is asking the government to set up a one-stop shop for permits to hasten the development of mineral resources in the country.
“Of course, we’d love to have streamlined permits. I think DOE [Department of Energy] is setting the bar with one-stop shop and I think if we can replicate that with the same ideals, I think it will be good [for the industry],” DMCI Mining President Tulsi Das C. Reyes said over the weekend.
“Right now, we go to EMB [Environmental Management Bureau], FMB [Forest Management Bureau] central, regional directors, you have to have a lot of dealings. Sometimes there is miscommunication between the national and local levels.”
Reyes said a one-stop shop will help clarify laws for miners.
“Who do you follow, LGUs [local government units] or the national government? So if we could speak the same language, which I think we are doing right now, I think we are going to see more clarity.”
He said with government support for the mining industry, a number of nickel miners are now planning to put up processing plants that require billions of dollars in investments.
“Who would have ever thought that we would be talking about a $1.5-billion investment for a processing plant? I have never seen that, I have never heard that happen,” Reyes said.
“Nickel Asia [Corp.] was the first one, how many years ago, in the 1970s. Just them. Now you are getting PGMC [Platinum Group Metals Corp.], CNC [Carrascal Nickel Corp.], all these second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth miners in the country, who now have options to process ore.”
He said the Philippines can be competitive and meet demand for resources in the global market.
“You can do world-class environmental procedures following all these international companies because the need is there.”
