SUMMARY
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MANILA, Philippines – The suspension of several mine operations and the decline in the central bank’s gold purchases pulled down the country’s metal production by 18.04% in 2012.
Data from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) showed metal production value in 2012 reached P100.798 billion, down from P122.984 billion in 2011.
The top contributors to production value in 2012 were:
- Nickel sulphides and nickel direct shipping ore – P46.03 billion
- Copper – P15.55 billion
- Silver, zinc, chromite and iron – P4.09 billion
The companies that accounted for most of production were:
- Siana Gold project of Greenstone Resources Corporation in Surigao del Norte
- Sta. Cruz Nickel project of Eramen Minerals, Inc. in Zambales
- H.Y. Nickel-Chromite project of Sinosteel Phils
- H.Y. Mining Corporation in Dinagat Islands,
- camachin iron ore Mining Project of Ore Asia Mining and Development Corporation in Bulacan
The suspended mining projects included:
- Padcal Copper-Gold Project of Philex Mining Corporation in Benguet
- Nonoc Nickel Project of Shuley Mines Inc. and Pacific Nickel Philippines Inc. in Surigao del Norte
- Leyte Magnetite Project of Nicua Corporation in Leyte
- Paracale Gold Project of Johnson Gold Mining Corporation in Camarines Norte
Gold purchases
A decrease in gold purchases by the central bank also weighed on total metal output in 2012.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data showed the value of gold purchased from small-scale miners fell 93% to P2.304 billion in 2012 from P34.665 billion in 2011.
Volume of production by small-scale miners fell 94% to 1,090 kilograms in 2012 from 17,638 kilograms in 2011.
Total gold production volume, including output from large-scale miners, went down 44% to 15,762 kilograms in 2012 from 31,120 kilograms in 2011. Value of production dropped 49% to P35.132 billion in 2012 from P63.142 billion the previous year.
The decline in BSP purchases followed a Bureau of Internal Revenue regulation imposing a 2% excise tax and a 5% creditable withholding tax on transactions, pushing small-scale gold miners and traders to sell their output to other buyers. – Rappler.com
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