Republic Act No. 7076 defines “small-scale mining” as mineral exploration that employs manual labor with simple implements and methods and not explosives or heavy equipment.
Small-scale miners must form cooperatives to be duly licensed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
The DENR’s Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) estimates the number of small-scale miners in the country at 3,000.
RA 7076, or the Act Creating People’s Small-Scale Mining Program, allows the creation of People’s Small-Scale Mining Areas.
Under the law, small-scale mining operations are overseen by the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board composed of the MGB director as chair and the provincial governor as vice chair.
Its members should come from small-scale and large-scale mining interests and a nongovernment environmental organization.
In 2012, President Aquino signed Executive Order No. 79 to institutionalize and implement reforms in the mining sector. Section 11 of the law restricts small-scale miners to “Minahang Bayan” zones and prohibits large-scale mining in these areas.
There are currently three Minahang Bayan sites—one in the province of Quezon, another in Dinagat Island and another in Agusan del Norte province.
EO 79 also restricts small-scale mining to the extraction of gold, silver and chromite, but not any other metallic minerals. It prohibits the use of mercury.
According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, small-scale gold mining contributed P300 million in gross production value in mining in 2013. Inquirer Research
Sources: MGB, Inquirer Archives