MANILA, Philippines?The mining sector is confident it can withstand the ill effects of the current global financial crisis and credit crunch, which will be felt for only a short period, Chamber of Mines of the Philippines president Philip Romualdez said at a news briefing.

?I am confident the issue will be a short-term problem,? said Romualdez, who is president chief executive of mining firm Benguet Corp. ?Generally, there is still a strong interest in funding minerals development projects. In fact, mining remains a bright sector.?

Romualdez admitted there might be a slowdown in funding activities. ?There will be some aversion to risk and financial markets will probably have to reevaluate their risk profiles, and definitely the Philippines will be part of that review,? he said.

?Right now, we?re in the middle of a crisis,? he said. ?But when the dust starts to settle, there will be a repositioning and Philippine mining projects will remain to be among those that will merit consideration in financing.?

Romualdez also said that despite the crisis the ?global economy is still growing, and in any growth, industrialization is needed and minerals are the backbone of any industrialization. Minerals have to come from somewhere.?

The Philippines is estimated to have $1 trillion worth of untapped gold, copper and nickel resources. Less than two percent of about nine million hectares of land identified as having rich mineral deposits have been explored and covered by mining permits. Amy Remo; with editing by INQUIRER.net