PHILIPPINE MINING FOOTPRINT:CORRECTING MISCONCEPTIONS

A COMMON MISCONCEPTION among some NGOs is that all applications for exploration permits filed with the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (see left map below) will eventually be approved, granting the applicants the right to mine 40 percent of the 30 million total land area of the Philippines -- equivalent to 12 to 14 million hectares covered by these applications.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

There are 27 existing large-scale mines that occupy only 60,000 hectares – about 35 percent the size of Quezon City (see right map). The 60,000-hectare footprint of these mines is equivalent to only 0.2 percent of the total Philippine landmass – well within the figures of US and South Africa (less than 1 percent) and Australia (0.06 percent), economies where mining is a major contributor to economic growth.

Another misconception is that a mining application automatically results in mining. Global statistics show that out of 25,000 mining prospects, 500 will see some form of drilling or exploration, and of these 500 only ONE will go on to become a mine. Since the Philippines is better endowed with minerals, success ratio may be ONE mine out of 4,000 prospects.

Even if an additional 17 legitimate large-scale mining projects were developed in the next five years - equivalent to some 30,000 hectares – the total footprint of all mining areas will account for no more than 90,000 hectares or only 0.3 percent of the Philippine landmass. To conclude: legitimate large-scale mining sites occupy only 0.2 percent of the total country landmass. This small footprint has practically no significant impact on biodiversity, ecotourism, fishery, and agriculture.