Up for grabs soon: 50 idle mining assets
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will bid out about 50 idle mining assets nationwide starting this year to accelerate the development of the country’s untapped mineral resources.
Environment Undersecretary Carlos Primo David said the agency would auction off mineral assets that are “not moving” to “eligible” mining companies.
While he did not reveal the list of mineralized areas to be offered, David said the DENR was finalizing the competitive bidding guidelines, which are targeted to be released in November.
According to David, those dormant mining assets are valued between tens of thousands to tens of millions in pesos.
“Some assets are for exploration, so the risk level is quite high. Some are proven reserves, so medyo mataas (the value is somewhat high),” he said.
David explained that the DENR had revised the auction process to offer mineralized areas only to “eligible” entities. He noted that offering them on a “first-come, first-served basis” was “not fair.”
“It’s not fair [that] whoever gets to apply first gets the resource. Now, for all these canceled and expired mineral assets that were not developed, we opened everything, 50 of them initially, for competitive bidding. [It’s] so that we can select not only the best offer for the government, but also the best companies that will operate it,” he said on the sidelines of the Mining Philippines 2025 on Wednesday.
What’s on the table
David said qualified mining companies may bid for the following: expired and canceled exploration permits, mineral production sharing agreements, financial or technical assistance agreements and pre-identified, nontenured mineralized areas.
Interested parties should prove their technical and financial capability, he said.
“What we want are companies taking these assets and actually developing them,” David said, adding that prospective bidders may opt not to pursue mineral resource development if they believe it would result in losses.
The DENR aims to release the bidding policy in time for the Philippine Mine Safety and Environment Association’s 71st Annual National Mine Safety and Environment Conference next month.
“It will spur even more development when we release these mineral assets that are there but not used,” he said.
Aside from the competitive bidding, David said the government was working on a draft executive order to correct and clarify some provisions of the Philippine Mining Act of 1995. The goal is to issue the order by the first quarter of 2026.
Through the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, the agency is working on an alternative registration of small-scale miners, the majority of which are still undocumented or operating outside public mining areas.
David said this would allow the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to transact with registered small-scale miners.
“What we are looking at is a tiered registration procedure for, first, as individual groups, the cooperatives and Minahang Bayan (public mining),” David added.
