Philippines and Japan Strengthen Cooperation on Mining
Philippine Environment Undersecretary for Policy, Planning and International Affairs Jonas R. Leones (right) and Japanese State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yoshihiko Isozaki (left) sign the Memorandum of Cooperation between the DENR and METI on Mining Sector.
16 August 2019 – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) signed today the Memorandum of Cooperation with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan to promote cooperation in the mining and mineral resources sector.
With the signing of this memorandum, both countries hope to strengthen the relationship through regular dialogues and cooperation in the areas of: mining policy on exploration, development and operation; information sharing on supply-demand trends; best practices of sustainable development and operation in mining; security in exploration, development and operation of mines; appropriate environmental impact assessment and improvement of investment environment to attract more investors to the mining sector.
The Mines and Geosciences Bureau also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Japan Oils, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) on mine rehabilitation and mine pollution control. JOGMEC will provide capability training and technical support to Philippine officials on mine pollution control and environmental policies. Japan, once a world class producer of metals, now has 5,000 suspended and abandoned mines throughout the country and JOGMEC has been rehabilitating mines and working on mine pollution control since the 1970s.
The first phase of the training will be conducted sometime October 2018 in Japan. According to MGB figures, there are 11 abandoned and inactive mines in the Philippines that the government hopes to rehabilitate by 2022.
The Philippines is ranked as one of the top mineralized country in the world with an estimated USD 1 trillion untapped wealth in copper, gold, nickel zinc and silver. The mining industry is a major contributor to the Philippine economy with gross production value of Php 109.5 billion in 2017 and employs 215,000 direct workers.
Philippine Environment Undersecretary for Policy, Planning and International Affairs Jonas R. Leones (fourth from left) and and Japanese State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yoshihiko Isozaki (third from left) pose after the signing ceremony. Philippine Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Robespierre Bolivar also witnessed the signing ceremony.
