Philippines turns to idle mining assets to raise extra revenue
By Enrico dela Cruz
MANILA, Oct 7 (Reuters) – The Philippine government is seeking to raise additional revenue by pushing for the resumption of operations at idle state-owned mining projects, including through the sale of its Nonoc nickel assets, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said on Wednesday.
The Privatization and Management Office, an agency under Dominguez, has reviewed state mining assets that could be sold, as the government scrambles for funds to meet increased spending aimed at resuscitating a pandemic-hit economy.
Dominguez said he was working closely with the Mines and Geosciences Bureau and the environment ministry to revive the sale of the Nonoc nickel project in Surigao del Norte province, the Basay copper mine in central Negros Oriental province, and all other state mining assets.
“We are pushing the revival of the mining industry,” he told a business forum. “The mining industry provides jobs in areas where there are no other alternative jobs.”
The Nonoc mine has been idle since the environment ministry in 2011 stopped the project due to the operator’s failure to settle a $264 million debt, on top of taxes, to the government.
The Philippines, home to more than two dozen nickel mines, is a major supplier to China. Its mostly low-grade ores are used to produce nickel pig iron, a raw material for stainless steel.
The Southeast Asian country is also among the world’s top producers of copper and gold, but mining accounts for less than 1 percent to the economy, based on government data.
In 2017, President Rodrigo Duterte warned he might close the mining sector completely and tax miners “to death” as he lambasted operators for environmental damage he had seen.
The rethink on the sector comes as the World Bank warned the Philippine economy may contract this year by as much as 6.9%, worse than the government’s projected 5.5% decline.
Source: Reuters