Mineral Reservations of the Philippines:  Overlooked Resources for Development

Ma. Malyn L. Tumonong**, Claro Jose C. Manipon*

Mines and Geosciences Bureau
** Senior Science Research Specialist
*Supv. Science Research Specialist

 

Since the start of the twentieth century there have been a little over ten (10) declared Mineral Reservations in the Philippines. Of these ten, six (6) were declared by the national government based on results of the then Bureau of Mines’s in-house exploration program. These are: the Surigao Laterite Mineral Reservation, the Zambales Chromite Mineral Reservation, the Siruma White Clay Mineral Reservation, the Offshore Mineral Reservation, the Samar Bauxite Mineral Reservation, and the Ilocos Norte Feldspar Mineral Reservation. These reservations were declared over the period ranging from the 1914 to 1978.

The latest declared mineral reservations are the Zamboanga Mineral Reservation in 1987, the Biak-Na-Bato Mineral Reservation in 1989, the lahar-affected rivers and embankment areas in the provinces of Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales in 1999 and the Davao Mineral Reservation in 2002. Unlike the first seven, the declarations of these lastest reservations were borne as solutions to existing issues and not due to an earnest exploration effort on the part of the MGB.

Since the turnover of the Mineral Resources Development Board (MRDB) of the responsibility to the Mines and Geosciences Bureau in 1987, the MGB has collected P360 M in terms of royalties for the Philippine government. Aside from this, the social and environmental costs of an exploration and mining operation can best be monitored and controlled by the MGB under the mineral reservation system. It is forwarded that one avenue of growth of the mining industry could be the establishment of more mineral reservations through in-house MGB exploration activities.