The Philippine Mineral Reporting Code or the “Code” was created to set out minimum standards, recommendations and guidelines for Public Reporting in the Philippines of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves.
Last 29 April 2021, the Philippine Mineral Reporting Code Committee (PMRCC) had a virtual briefing titled “Philippine Mineral Reporting Code: What’s in it for the Philippines?”
Webinar was hosted by Juancho Pablo S. Calvez. Welcome remarks were given by Gerard H. Brimo, Chair, Chamber of Mines of the Philippines.
The other speakers present were Ciceron “Jun” A. Angeles, Jr. (Chair of PMRC Committee), Atty. Dennis Quintero (Chair of Philippines-Australia Business Council), Atty Roel Refran (Chief Operating Officer at the Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc.), Martin Antonio G. Zamora (President and CEO of Nickel Asia Corporation) and Armand L. Malicse (Chief of Mining and Environment Section, Mines and Geosciences Bureau).
A message from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau Director, Atty Wilfredo G. Moncano, was presented during the webinar.
The Open Forum was moderated by Joey Nelson R. Ayson, President of Philippine Mining and Exploration Association.
Gerard H. Brimo, Chair, Chamber of Mines of the Philippines,
Atty Roel Refran (Chief Operating Officer at the Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc.),
Atty. Dennis Quintero (Chair of Philippines-Australia Business Council)
In his opening speech, Brimo said, "Allow me first to congratulate the officers and members of the PMRC Committee composed of seven institutions that spearheaded the revisions to the Philippine mineral reporting code of 2017. These are the Philippine Stock Exchange, the Philippine Society of Mining Engineers, the Geological Society of the Philippines, The Society of Metallurgical Engineers of the Philippines, the Philippine Chamber of Coal Mines, the Philippine Mining and Exploration Association, and the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines. Your efforts will go a long way in advancing the level of trust and confidence in our industry among investors and the financial community which is hugely necessary to underpin our industry’s activities."
Brimo also noted that the revision to the PMRC is timely after the lifting of the nine-year moratorium on new mining projects after the signing of the EO No. 130 last 14 April 2021.
"The revision of Philippine mineral reporting code, to make it at par with globally accepted minerals reporting standards, is a most welcome development and clearly falls by the multi-disciplinary initiatives that had been going on in our industry in partnership with other stakeholders in the last several years. "
As a review, “The Code was formulated with the intent of setting minimum standards for public reporting on minerals that is compatible with global standards. The formulation of the PMRC relied on the international codes from Australia, South Africa, European Union and Canada,” according to the Philippine-Australia Business Council (PABC).
"The idea of having a Philippine Mineral Reporting Code started during one of the mining roadshows in Australia, participated in by representatives from the Philippine-Australia Business Council. Back then, the Chairman was Atty. Leo Dominguez and the delegation was composed of the various mining industry stakeholders like the Chamber of Mines and also the Philippine Stock Exchange. And the idea came up that if Australia has its JORC (Australasian Joint Ore Reserves Committee), and [thought of] the idea for the Philippines to have its own as well. And that's how the idea of having PMRC came about,” said Atty Quintero in a 2019 focus group discussion on the PMRC.
Organizations that were involved in the promulgation of the PMRC back in 2007 were Philippine Minerals Development Institute Foundation, Philippine Society of Mining Engineers, Geological Society of the Philippines, Society of Metallurgical Engineers of the Philippines, Mines and Geosciences Bureau, Philippine Stock Exchange, Board of Investments, Chamber of Mines of the Philippines and Philippine-Australia Business Council.
From Refran’s report, "PSE Implementation of PMRC" he gave these key points on the PSE implementation background .
- The PMRC was adopted by the PSE as part of its listing and disclosure rules upon SEC approval on 19 August 2008. -The PMRC sets out the minimum standards, recommendations and guidelines for public reporting in the Philippines of the following: exploration results, mineral resources and ore reserves.
- The PMRC IRR was approved by the SEC on 21 October 2010. The Implementing Rules and Regulations adopted the PMRC principles of materiality, transparency and competence, provides the guidelines in complying with reporting standards provided in the PMRC and aims to protect the investors by requiring full disclosure of material information from covered companies, invalidating misleading information and preventing fraudulent practices.
Refran said that the proposed 2020 changes in the 2007 Philippine Mineral Reporting Code (PMRC) will be fully implemented within the year in order to comply with the international standards in the mineral reporting. “We are already in discussions with the SEC on the finalized version. We are just going to finalize a couple of regulatory issues as they pertain to PSE,” he added. [1]
PSE’s additional revisions include sustainability considerations, “Public Reports should discuss environmental, social and health and safety impacts that are expected during development, operation and after closure, and the mitigation and remediation plans to address such impacts.”
MGB Director Moncano noted that “Mr. Cimatu said the IRR (Implementing Rules and Regulations) should be issued soon and he is ready to sign it. We shall soon be inviting stakeholders as part of due process to hear their comments, suggestions, and inputs to this draft IRR… The MGB will strive to have this IRR forwarded to the Office of the Secretary for his signature as soon as possible. This IRR will come in the form of a department administrative order” Mr. Moncano said. [1]
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Additional reference:
[1] Ochave, Revin Mikhael D. (29 April 2021). “New mineral reporting code seen implemented this year”. BusinessWorld.
Retrieved from - https://www.bworldonline.com/new-mineral-reporting-code-seen-implemented-this-year/
