Diokno Says Mining Industry Will Help in Economic Recovery

Department of Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno has stated that the mining industry can potentially be a source of sustained economic growth as he highlighted the gains of stimulating investments for mine development in the country.

“The mining industry holds the greatest potential to be a key driver in our economic recovery and long-term growth, especially now that world metal prices are high. The Philippines, after all, is one of the world’s most richly endowed countries in terms of mineral resources,”  says Secretary Diokno during the listing of Philex Mining Corporation (Philex) common shared in the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

Philex is currently generating investments for the expansion of its Silangan underground copper-gold mine in Surigao del Norte.

The company has said that a maximum of 842 million common shares at the rate of one offer share for every 5.8674 shared owned for ₱3.15 each in order to garner ₱2.652 billion new equity.

This Silangan project is deemed one of the largest copper-gold mines in the Philippines. This project is scheduled to be mined in two phases. Phase one has a mineable ore reserve of 81 million metric tonnes to be mined for 22 years at a rate of four million tonnes annually.

The mine is scheduled to begin its commercial operations in the first quarter of 2025.

Secretary Diokno has mentioned that the SRO listing of Philex shows the mining industry’s confidence in the Philippines’ potential economic growth prospects.

He also mentions that local economies will be stimulated, more jobs will be created, and more revenues will be contributed to the government.

Source: Philippine News Agency