THE Philippines is expanding its processing and refining of minerals, and aligning its regulatory policies with international standards to attract high-quality, sustainable capital, a government official said on Tuesday.
Trade Undersecretary and Board of Investments Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo made the remarks recently at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Critical Minerals Forum in Istanbul, Turkey.
The country is leveraging its position as a leading nickel supplier to enable strategic international partnerships, Rodolfo said.
The Philippines is the biggest exporter of nickel ore/concentrate, accounting for more than one-fourth of global supply. More than 98 percent of exports go to China, with 1 percent to Japan.
China sources more than 80 percent (by volume; 60 percent by value) of its nickel imports from the Philippines. Indonesia imports 99.7 percent also from the Philippines, increasing by an average of 30 percent in the past five years.
To achieve its critical mineral goals, the country is pursuing three directions, which Rodolfo called the “three Ps”:
– Policy: To ensure that domestic policy is in place, for example, in the passage of the “Enhanced Fiscal Regime for Large-Scale Metallic Mining Act,” including provisions aimed at equitable returns (sharing and timing), fiscal transparency, and sustainable development.
– Permitting: A standing proposal to reduce significantly the permitting process from 11 years to 11 months without cutting corners, but making sure that all environment, labor, and other important standards are complied with.
– Partnership in the domestic setting, between government and private sector, as well as overseas.
These three Ps lead to “Processing Projects,” Rodolfo said, citing a recent milestone project with the United States, the AI Native Industrial Acceleration Hub in a 4,000-acre property in New Clark City, Tarlac.
The country is also tackling issues that have hounded the minerals industry, Rodolfo said.
The past 15 years have seen the Philippines implement policies that halted the development of its mining industry — particularly a moratorium on new mineral agreements and a ban on open-pit mining, as well as several local government-level restrictions.
However, these challenges have since been resolved, and a clear and stable policy framework on mining development, fully promoting sustainability, is now in place, Rodolfo said.
“The resources of the Philippines are intact, saved for the present time when we critically need them for energy transition and for AI (artificial intelligence) tech applications,” Rodolfo said.
“A call for a fair price and partnership, however, cannot be stressed enough. The government supports international efforts towards these, as our need to ensure that the country and its people get more value added from our minerals,” he added.
Aside from Rodolfo, other participants at the High-Level Ministerial Panel in the OECD forum dubbed “Unlocking Investment in Critical Mineral Supply Chains,” were Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Saudi Arabia; Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Egypt; Mike Kopp, Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the US Department of Energy; and Rohitesh Dhawan, CEO, International Council on Mining and Metals.
