Manila’s copper, gold productions to vault
Govt wants to attract $ 6.5 bn in foreign funding for 24 mining projects
MANILA Philippine copper output is expected to rise 85 per cent this year and gold output by 16 per cent due to the opening of new mines funded by foreigners, Angelo Reyes, Environment Secretary, said today.
“Our projections show that, indeed, the Philippine mining industry is facing a major take-off in the next two to three years as five of the world’s largest mining players are now in the country doing exploration and mining development,” Reyes told Reuters in an email, in response to questions.
The Philippine government wants to attract $ 6.5 billion in foreign funding for 24 priority mining projects to revive its once mighty minerals industry and stoke economic growth.
Their investment campaign was knocked off course in late-2005 and 2006 after cyanide leaks in a copper and gold mine belonging to Australia’s Lafayette Mining Ltd. triggered the wrath of environmentalists and powerful Catholic bishops.
But, with metal prices rising on tight supply, the world’s top miners, including BHP Billiton, Anglo-American and Xstrata Plc., as well as smaller players such as Canada’s Chemical Vapour Metal Refining Inc. are now exploring lodes in the archipelago.
Manila, which estimates it has $ 1 trillion worth of unexplored gold, copper and nickel, said mostly foreign firms had so far invested $ 694 million in the 24 priority projects since 2004.
“An additional $ 348 million is expected to come in this year and about $ 1.5 billion in 2008,” said Reyes.
“The Philippine government’s revitalisation programme is now showing positive results as five of the development projects are now in the operating stage, generating foreign exchange and employment for the country as a result of investments.”
Reyes said two of the new projects were due to expand their mining operations in the next two years to take advantage of increasing demand in the world metals market.
OUTPUT
Rising mineral prices, largely due to demand from China, have already helped propel production in the Philippines and copper output is expected to increase to 31,423 tonnes this year and should rise to 46,003 tonnes in 2008, Reyes said.
Gold output is forecast to jump to 1.38 million ounces this year from 1.16 million in 2006.
Next year, gold production should increase to 1.57 million ounces, Reyes, a former armed forces chief, said.
Nickel output, which more than doubled last year to 59,139 tonnes, is also expected to increase from 2007
to 2009.
The Philippines is forecast to ship around 3.5 million metric tonnes of nickel ore each year to foreign smelters and refiners from 2007 to 2009, data released by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) showed.
Production at the Coral Bay processing facility, majority owned by Japanese firms led by Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd., is expected to contain between 10,000 and 11,000 tonnes of nickel each year from 2007 to 2009. (Reuters)
wadi.ae |
