Mining industry to adopt Canadian practices

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s mining industry will formalize its adoption of Canadian practices, which have been globally recognized for its standards.

The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines and its members tomorrow will ink an agreement with the Mining Association of Canada.

“We will sign a mutual cooperation and licensing agreement (MCLA) with the Mining Association of Canada for the implementation of the Toward Sustainable Mining (TSM) initiative,” COMP executive director Ronald Recidoro said.

Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu and Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines John Holmes will witness the signing.

The TSM is a program and set of protocols to drive performance and ensure that key mining risks are managed responsibly. It has been adopted in other mineral-rich countries like Finland, Nigeria and Australia among others.

Established in 2004, TSM aims to enable mining companies to meet society’s needs for minerals, metals and energy products in the most socially, economically and environmentally responsible way.

The Chamber earlier said the implementation of the program will take about a year. After the signing, there will be workshops to be conducted for the members.

As it adopts the Canadian standards, the local mining industry will also modify some of the parameters and create a local version of the guidelines to suit local conditions, as part of the initial work.

President Duterte has been urging mining firms to adopt the highest possible international standards to ensure better economic contribution and the protection of the environment.