MANILA - The lifting of the moratorium on new mining projects is "most welcome" especially in this time of "great national difficulty," the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines said Thursday.
Mining projects that will be allowed to operate will provide additional government revenues in terms of taxes and fees, royalty fees and increase in export value, in addition to employment opportunities for thousands of Filipinos, the group said. "The industry’s positive impact on host communities can be clearly seen in regions around the country where mining has been allowed to flourish, such as in Caraga and MIMAROPA," it added.The group added that there are "adequate" social and environmental laws in place to mitigate the impact of mining, adding that they have adopted the global standard called Towards Sustainable Mining program.