The 2019 State of Philippine Mining Regulatory Environment
By: Roderick Salazar III. The Philippines is known for its rich reserves in copper, gold and nickel with about 9 million hectares out of the total land area of 30 million hectares identified as having high mineral potential. Despite such recognition in respect of its mineral endowment, however, the contribution of the mining industry to the Philippine economy is miniscule with a low 1% of GDP.