Gov’t urged to regulate, tax small-scale mining

MANILA, Philippines—The report that unscrupulous Chinese traders teamed up with small-scale miners should compel the government to crack down on the small-scale mining industry, the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (CoMP) said.

CoMP chair Art Disini said the mining industry indeed saw an onslaught of Chinese nickel buyers before 2008, the year of the Beijing Olympics. These buyers bought mostly low-grade nickel from small-scale miners.

But after the Olympics, which slowed down the construction boom and reduced the price of nickel in the world market, the traders disappeared, he said.

“We heard about it… They partnered with Filipino miners who went for small-scale permits. We have no control over that,” Disini said.

‘Old story’

CoMP president Philip Romualdez said the entry of Chinese businessmen in the mining industry was an “old story.”

He noted that the large-scale buying of low-grade nickel eventually backfired on the miners who traded on them as the price of the mineral declined after 2008. “A lot of unscrupulous traders got burned,” Romualdez said.

The collusion between Chinese businessmen and Filipino small-scale miners should give the government another reason to crack down on small-scale mining, CoMP said.

This industry has poor safety record, does not follow environment laws, and is not required to pay excise tax to the government, Romualdez said.

Based on CoMP’s computation, the government loses P857.3 million from the uncollected excise tax from small-scale miners. There are 2,000-3,000 companies with small-scale mining permits nationwide, according to the Mines and Geosciences Bureau.

Romualdez urged the government to impose regulations and collect taxes from small-scale mining firms. Pending the creation of a mechanism for tax collection and regulation, the government should impose a moratorium on small-scale mining, he said.