TUBA, Benguet – The ongoing shift to green technology around the world will keep the minerals industry thriving, especially with the rapidly growing demand for critical minerals.

Philex resident and chief executive officer Engr. Eulalio B. Austin, Jr. said that for as long as the trend on the shift to renewable energy and the use of electronic vehicles will remain, the global mining industry will remain robust and will play a key role in sustaining the economic growth of mineralized countries like the Philippines.

The Philex official pointed out that the use of green technology and electronic vehicles will require steady supply of critical minerals such as cobalt, copper and nickel that is why mining companies that are extracting these minerals will have a greater advantage in providing the supply for the said technology shift.

According to him, Philex has an ongoing exploration of its proposed nickel mines in Zambales to be able to maximize the potential of the said mine with the shift to the use of green technology.

Earlier, Environment Secretary Maria Antonette Yulo-Loyzaga issued the required exploration permit to Philex to conduct the exploration of its proposed nickel mine in Zambales in preparation for the projected initial operation of the mine.

Austin emphasized that the Philippines is seating on an $8 trillion resource that would guarantee the payment of the government’s international and domestic loans once responsibly developed and utilized.

He added that the contribution of the mining industry to the country’s economy is actually less than one percent compared to Indonesia, Australia, Canada among other mineral-rich countries where mining contributes 20 percent or one fifth of their respective economies.

According to him, mining will definitely be instrumental in spurring economic growth because of its enormous contribution in the generation of jobs for people, the provision of resources to its host and neighboring communities in the form of hard and soft infrastructure, the payment of taxes to the local and national governments, the operation of businesses within the communities, among others.

Philex has been a pioneer in the conduct of responsible mining over the past several decades that allowed the mining company to earn the trust and confidence of the people living within its host and neighboring communities aside from the guaranteed sustainable preservation and protection of the environment in its tenement area.

Austin believes that the best is yet to come for the country’s mining industry with the opening of new mines in the different parts of the country that will allow investments to flourish in these communities and provide sustainable sources for livelihood for them.

The Philippines is the fifth mineralized country in the world with more than 9 million hectares of mineralized land located around the archipelago but only 15 percent of the said land has been tapped by the existing operation of mining companies that had invested for the said purpose. By Dexter A. See

Source: https://baguioheraldexpressonline.com/green-technology-to-keep-minerals-industry-alive/