MGB to resolve mining applications by end-June

The government aims to resolve all pending mining applications by the end of June, after which it hopes to bid out the available mining areas, Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) director Leo Jasareno said in a phone interview.

The MGB has so far canceled more than 1,200 mining applications for “infirmities, lack of activity or lack of requirements.” About 30 have been endorsed for approval. That means almost two-thirds of the 2,100 applications have been acted upon, Jasareno said.

He also said that the guidelines for canceling idle applications were so clear that regional directors now doing the purge had been left with “no room for discretion.”

This should make their task simpler, Jasareno said.

One of the guidelines states clearly that a mining application must have been published before the anniversary of filing, otherwise, the regional director must automatically reject the application, Jasareno said.

“If the applicant is allowed to publish its filing a year or more after the appropriate date, we in the central office can find that out, and that would be grounds to dismiss the erring regional director. We will not tolerate any violation of the guidelines because this cleansing is a major program of our mother agency, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR),” he said.

After the purging process, the government will bid out properties that are available. Bidding out mining areas to technically and financially competent firms, instead of the present system of first come, first served, is one of the reform measures awaiting President Aquino’s signature, Jasareno said.

Most miners welcomed the government purge because it would free up areas for “serious investors” and increase the value of active permits and mining contracts. But some fear that any resulting spike in investor interest may draw unwanted attention to the mining industry.