Aquino rejects total ban on mining

fuel tank capacity of zenith cone crusher specifications

President Aquino said he is not in favor of imposing a total ban on mining, preferring that the government ensure that it gets “a fair share” from mining revenues.

“We don’t think banning altogether is the solution. You will have small-scale unregulated mining. We want to ensure that we get a fair share. We want to be able to also be part of the processing and we want to maximize the utility of the resource for our people,” Aquino told reporters. Asked how much “fair share” should the government get from mining revenues, Aquino said this is one of the issues being discussed by Palace officials and mining stakeholders as Malacañang crafts its mining policy. “When they extract it from the ground, 2% is what we charge them as tax. What happened to the 98%? The two percent takes care of everything that might happen if there is a disaster. Of course, those of us who remember what happened in Marinduque and the promises that were made are really very wary. That is one of the actual details that are...