Mining companies conceded Wednesday that the choice for the new environment secretary presents difficulties for the sector, but vowed to work with anti-mining advocate Gina Lopez.
Philex Mining Corp. Manuel Pangilinan said it was “business as usual” for the country’s biggest mining company and that “we will just work what we have been dealt with.”
Philex Mining, which owns the Padcal mines in Benguet, is the country’s biggest producer of copper and gold.
“The elephant in the room is Gina Lopez, I apologize for the comparison. But first of all, let me say this, it’s entirely the prerogative of the president to name whoever he wants to name and I respect that he has nominated Gina Lopez to be DENR secretary. We respect that and so be it,” he said.
Lopez on Tuesday accepted the offer of President-elect Rodrigo Duterte to head the Environment and Natural Resources Department.
The mining and oil index of the Philippine Stock Exchange fell 7.3 percent on Wednesday, the steepest drop in 10 months, after closing 4.1 percent lower in the previous session.
Lepanto Consolidated Mining Co. tumbled 6.8 percent and Philex Mining lost 11 percent, while Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc. was down 6.5 percent and Semirara Mining and Power Corp. slid 7.9 percent at the session’s close. Nickel Asia Corp., the nation’s largest producer in which Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. holds a 26 percent stake, dropped 4.6 percent.
“In two days, we’re down 12 percent. Nobody wants to see the value of the company going down,” Pangilinan said.
Pangilinan, however, said Lopez should be given the chance to articulate her policy as “it reflects the policy of the president as well.”
He added the company may also have to wait first before pursuing any expansion plans.
He said mining could be another growth driver for the Philippines if given the chance to grow. “The Philippines is a very mineralized country so we should explore that,” he said.
The Philippine Mine Safety and Environment Association, meanwhile, is confident Lopez will be fair in her decisions on the country’s mining industry.
Sarmiento said in a text message while the sector was worried about the appointment of Lopez, it was “positive that she will look at it with a balance view before making any drastic view detrimental not only to the industry but to the direct and indirect beneficiaries and workers in and around the industry.”
“President-elect Rodrigo Duterte has made clear his policy in support of responsible mining. All our mining operations are ISO compliant for environmental management systems and are world class,” said Nickel Asia president and chief executive Gerard Brimo.
The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines earlier said the environment secretary should have enough background in natural resources management to get the right establishments to operate around mining communities.
Lopez’s appointment bodes well for companies developing clean and renewable energy sources. “We’re an incredible country with solar, with wind, with thermal, surely we can find a way,” she said. Energy Development Corp., which produces geothermal energy, jumped 6.5 percent on Wednesday and First Gen Corp. added 8.7 percent, the highest close in almost a year. Both companies are owned by the Lopez family. With Bloomberg
