Filipinos mines awards on 1st AMA

Mining companies of the Philippines received the highest acknowledgement in the 1st ASEAN Mineral Awards (AMA) under the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Minerals (ASOMM) held at M Gallery Hotel, Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar in November 2017.

The AMA for Best Practice in Minerals Mining was awarded to Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Corp. (RTNMC), a nickel mining operation in Bataraza, Palawan operated by Nickel Asia.

On the other hand, the AMA for Best Practice in Minerals Processing was given to OceanaGold's Didipio Gold-

Copper mine which is operating between Quirino and Nueva Vizcaya provinces.

The chief operating officer of Nickel Asia, Jose Anievas and OceanaGold's Chairman of the board, Jose Leviste Jr., both received the awards.

The RioTuba Mines made it to the top 3 finalists for Metallic Mines Category, while the processing plant in Didipio, Nueva Vizcaya, by OceanaGold Philippines Inc. made it to the top 3 finalists for Processing Plant Category.

“This is the first time that ASEAN countries have come together to launch this kind of award. This is a big deal. This is ASEAN. We are going beyond our shores,” Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) CEO, Gerard Brimo said.

CEO Brimo also stressed that even if they’ve come second, it still proves that they have the best mines in the world.

The concurrent chairman COMP, a group that represents mining industry’s big players in the Philippines, said he was confident that the companies would bring home the top awards.

According to him, the awards will prove to the world that the country’s mines are world-class.

"By having companies as finalists, only proves the Philippines can compete with other world-class mines in other countries," he added.