The president of the Philippines lifted a nine-year moratorium on new mining projects

Philippine President Duterte (Rodrigo Duterte) issued an executive order on Thursday canceling a ban on mining licenses issued since 2012. This means opening the door to investment in new mining projects in the country.

An executive order signed by Duterte a day ago allows the Philippine government to enter into agreements for new mining projects and review existing mining contracts and agreements to renegotiate the terms as the government seeks to increase revenue from the mining industry to finance infrastructure and other construction projects.

The country is an important global producer of nickel, copper and gold.

Under the government's tax reform law, which came into effect in 2018, the consumption tax on the country's mineral products has substantially doubled to 4%.

The order instructs the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources to formulate the terms and conditions of the new mineral agreement to maximize the revenue of the Philippine Government.

Although the 2012 ban was lifted, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources must strictly enforce regulations on mine safety and environmental policies.

The Philippines is also China's largest source of nickel ore supply.

So far, the Philippines has mined less than 5% of the country's nickel reserves.

The mining industry has been a controversial issue in the Philippines for some time.

Shortly after taking office in 2016, Duterte warned miners to comply with stricter environmental regulations or could be shut down, and the president maintained a ban on new open-pit mining despite a push by senior officials to relax the policy.