The Philippines is considered the world’s 5th most prolifically mineralized country. It is a significant producer of gold, copper, nickel and chromite, and has in the recent past ranked among the world’s top 10 producers. It is also abundant in non-metallic and industrial minerals such as marble, limestone, clay, feldspar, aggregates.

In an effort to revitalize the mining sector in the Philippines, the Government banked on instituting policy reforms that would encourage foreign direct investment in the industry that neglect basic economic, social and cultural rights of the Indigenous Peoples and the Local communities affected by the mining industry. This led to the adoption of the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 which has been described as a blanket legislation in favour of international mining companies to carry out mining activities on indigenous lands and hailed as “one of the most favourable to foreign mining companies anywhere in the world”.

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