Gov’t to adopt int’l codes on mining deals

http://www.tribune.net.ph/business/20060707bus7.html
By Carlo Leo C. Manuel

The Daily Tribune 07/07/2006

The government, with the assistance of the private sector, is formulating a Philippine Mineral Reporting Code (PMRC), similar to Australia’s Joint Ore Reserve Committee (JORC) Code, an internationally accepted mining industry standard that sets out the guidelines for public reporting of exploration results, among others.

According to Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) president Francis Lim, the proponents of the proposed PMRC want to use the JORC Code as their model in drawing up the Philippine version of the mining code.
He noted that Australian mining experts will hold a comprehensive orientation seminar on July 20 to 21 about the JORC Code. The seminar forms part of the joint government-private sector plan to formulate the PMRC.

“The seminar, thus, represents an important preparation towards our shift to a reporting standard, patterned after the JORC Code,” Lim said. “The proposed PMRC, thus, will elevate our mining rules to world standards.”

Aside from the PSE, those supporting the seminar are the Philippine Mineral Development Institute Foundation, Mines and Geosciences Bureau, Chamber of Mines, Philippine Australian Business Council and the Board of Investments (BoI).

The Australian Agency for International Development, through its Partnership on Economic Governance Reforms facility, is supporting the shift to JORC with a technical assistance.

Once PMRC is formally adopted, the government, through the BoI, will conduct a road show to announce the adoption of the new code.
Last year, the PSE liberalized its listing requirements to accommodate more mining firms into the bourse.

The PSE Board has decided to adopt a liberal interpretation of the track record and operating history requirements of its listing rules to accommodate mining firms that are worth listing, provided that they comply with certain requirements.

Among the documentary requirements, which shall be deemed compliance with the requirements on operating history and track record, include: certification from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) attesting that its mineral claims or rights as of the date of application are still valid; that they are being developed in accordance with the approved work program; and that the applicant has been complying with the reporting requirements of the MGB; certified true copies of exploration permits and mineral agreements; an MGB-approved exploration/construction/utilization work program prepared and signed by a licensed mining engineer, geologist or metallurgical engineer; proof of quality of management and of technical competence, showing bio-data of key management and technical personnel; and proof of adequate working capital to carry on the approved work program and appropriateness of capital structure.

The JORC Code is utilized and accepted in Australasia (Australia, New Zealand, and neighboring islands in the South Pacific). It has been used both as an internal reporting standard by a number of major international mining companies and as a template for countries in the process of developing or revising their own reporting documents, including the United States of America, Canada, South Africa and the United Kingdom/Europe.

The purpose of the JORC Code is to provide a minimum standard for reporting of exploration results, mineral resources and ore reserves in Australasia and to ensure that public reports on these matters contain all the information which investors and their advisers would reasonably require for the purpose of making a balanced judgment regarding the results and estimates being reported.

The Philippine mining industry received a big break in December 2004 when the Supreme Court reversed its January 2004 decision and declared the Mining Act of 1995 constitutional, effectively opening up to the local mining industry to foreign investment.

With this decision, foreign corporations can now own more than 40 percent of local entities that will be set up for the purpose of engaging in mining ventures, provided that they will state in their business purpose that they will get the Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement from the government.