Mining meet to focus on trend, challenges

Mining Philippines 2015, the biggest international mining conference in the country organized by the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP), will highlight international developments as well as local concerns in the high-capital, high-risk industry.

The event will be held on Sept. 15 to 17 at the Solaire Resort and Casino in Manila, according to COMP information.

The opening day will feature two focus group discussions—“Mining Matters: Unaccounted Benefits of Mining Operations” and “Mining Taxation: Analyzing Asean Competitiveness.”

COMP president Philip Romualdez and Surigao del Norte Gov. Sol Matugas will open the three-day event. An exhibit will be held on the first day, followed by the two-day conference.

On the second day, Sept. 16, Vice President Jejomar Binay will deliver the keynote address during the formal opening of the conference. He will be joined by Rafaelita Aldaba, Assistant Secretary for Industry Development of the Department of Trade and Industry, and Magnus Ericsson, founder of the Raw Materials Group of Sweden.

Participants to the plenary session in the afternoon will discuss Global Mining Developments, which will include such topics as “Transforming Resources into Long Term Prosperity,” “Commodity and Market Trends: Tracking Resource Supercycle and Community Boom and Busts,” “Extracting the Future: The Social Responsibility of the Global Resources Sector in 2050,” and “The Challenge of Governance: Critical Pathways to Sustainable Development.”

The plenary session in the morning of the third day, Sept. 17, will be highlighted by discussions on International and Regional Cooperation, with speakers from various Asian countries and the Philippines’ Mines and Geosciences Bureau providing their viewpoints.

To be discussed in the afternoon are the topics: “Investments, Hurdle Rates and Taxation: Guide to Investors Investing in Mining in the Philippines,” and “Control and Supervision Over Mineral Resources: The Interplay of Power of National and Local Government Issues.”

Highlighting the conference is a discussion on the role of mining to the country’s development.