The measure had been imposed in 2017 by the previous government, which accused the mining sector of provoking serious damage to the environment.
Le Monde with AFP
The Government of the Philippines has abolished a moratorium on the new open-air mines imposed four years ago, hoping to revitalize the economy of the country affected by the Pandemic of Covid-19, announced Wednesday 29 December A senior official. This decision has been criticized by environmental advocates, which found it “short-view”.
The moratorium was imposed in 2017 by the previous government, which accused the mining sector of provoking serious damage to the environment. Manila has since changed politics and encourages mining investments to try to revitalize the national economy. In April, President Rodrigo Dutete thus lifted a nine-year moratorium on the new mining contracts imposed by his predecessor.
The mining industry is “a potential contributor to the recovery of the economy”, told the France-Presse Agency Wednesday the Director of the Mining and Geological Sciences Office (MGB) Wilfredo MONCANO, indicating that the surveillance Moratorium had been signed by the Minister of the Environment Roy Cimatu. The mines “will help us to repay our loans to fight the pandemic,” he said.
up to $ 1.6 billion
According to Mr. Moncano, nine new open-pit mine projects are under consideration, and could report to the government up to $ 1.6 billion (€ 1.41 billion) a year when their exploitation Commercial will start.
The Philippines are one of the largest global nickel producers and the country’s basement is also rich in gold and copper, but the government estimates that 95% of reserves are unexploited. According to official figures, the mining sector accounted for last year by 1% of the national economy.
The Philippines Mining Chamber has welcomed the government’s decision, believing that it will “allow the industry to contribute more to our economic recovery.”
Conversely, the alliance for the end of the mines, an environmental advocacy organization, said that the lifting of the moratorium constituted “a short-view and displaced development priority”. “Once again, the Dutage Plan strengthens its erroneous economic program that qualifies the destructive mines of essential industry to recover from the pandemic,” she deplored in a statement.