PPP approach to mining projects pushed

The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) is pushing a public-private partnership (PPP) approach to the rehabilitation of abandoned mines, expressing its members’ readiness to foot the bill if regulators give them the opportunity.

Ronald Recidoro, COMP vice president for policy, said he had told the House of Representatives’ committee on natural resources—which conducted hearings on rehabilitation efforts—that the government need not shoulder funding for these projects.

“The private sector is more than willing to take on the challenge of rehabilitating abandoned mines,” Recidoro said. “The government just needs to allow it to be a viable business proposition.”

Citing data from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, COMP said that of the 31 large-scale mines that have shut down prematurely since the 1960s, 16 were under initial assessment for rehabilitation.

Of these mines, only the Bagacay mine in Samar was being restored, for which the government has spent about P150 million—a third of which came from a loan from the Australian government.

Also, the Privatization and Management Office has taken over many of these mines, with plans to reopen them under government auspices.

However, the chamber said, progress has been slow, to the detriment of the government and the host communities.

According to Recidoro, the COMP recommended that all prior rights or contracts of these mines be cancelled immediately and have these made available for mining application.

“The MGB must conduct scoping studies of all abandoned mines and mineral processing impact areas to create an inventory list of abandoned mines, define the costs and risks, and develop a rehabilitation program to mitigate observed and potential threats to human health and the environment,” he said.

“Mine site rehabilitation plans must aim to establish a land use capability that is functional and proximate to the land use prior to the disturbance of the mine area, unless other more beneficial land uses are predetermined and agreed in partnership with” local governments and communities, he added.

COMP also proposed that—in cases where there was still a viable ore deposit in the abandoned mine—the remaining minerals or waste from the mine be extracted.

The group added that, through a co-production or joint-venture agreement, a fixed percentage of the revenues from the extracted material must be set aside to fund the mines’ rehabilitation and final closure.

If this could be done, the government would not need to spend or borrow funds for the idle mines’ restoration, COMP said.