2609
Critical Raw Materials Scoping Study and Programme for EU Action
The Philippines has the potential to become a global CRM supplier. It is the second-largest pro-ducer of nickel ore, as well as its largest exporter. It also has deposits of cobalt, chromite, gold, silver, zinc, copper, and others. The Mines and Geosciences Bureau reports that 30% of the coun-try’s total land area, approximately 9 million ha., has been identified as having high mineral potential.
Despite regulatory simplifications for investment in recent years, there are still major challenges to developing the sector successfully and, above all, responsibly. On the one hand, there is a need for modern technology and well-trained professionals. On the other hand, there is also a need to strengthen the sector's social and governance aspects, including enhanced transparency, ac-countability, and citizen participation.
These improvements would facilitate social acceptance, improve the detection of environmental and socio-economic risks of extraction and processing, and create a more attractive investment climate. To support an effective and responsible development strategy for the CRM sector in the Philippines, a comprehensive study focusing on the sector's competitiveness and growth potential is both timely and essential. This project provides the basis for an effective intervention strategy, to be formalised as an EU Action Document, identifying strategic areas for collaboration to promote sustainable growth and strengthen sector cooperation.
The study takes a holistic approach and examines the challenges and opportunities for the Philip-pines to emerge as a global CRM player and the possible EU support for the country to achieve sustainable, inclusive, competitive and responsible CRM value chains through the following three key areas of intervention:
- Public Policy and Regulation: This involves reviewing and assessing CRM policies and regulations in the Philippines and making recommendations to align with global standards and best practices, strengthen ESG practices and position the country competitively, considering global trends such as the circular economy transition, Industry 4.0, the circular economy transi-tion, and digitalisation.
- Business development: This explores business development prospects for the Philippine mining/CRM sector, assessing local value chain potential, identifying promising companies, as-sessing technical and financial needs, and mapping EU-Philippines’s investment and trade op-portunities. The project produces recommendations to support EU efforts in green skills devel-opment, job creation and sustainable industrial growth.
- Community engagement and development: Including research of the development pro-spects and challenges of mining communities, identification of support needs for inclusive and responsible engagement, and recommending best practices. The project assesses the capacity of communities, NGOs and local governments to engage effectively with mining companies and identify areas for EU support.
A team of experts from Projekt-Consult will conduct comprehensive research and stakeholder consultations to assess key intervention areas. This includes desk-based research, primary data collection through interviews, surveys, and site visits, as well as in-depth data analysis to identify investment and trade opportunities, potential partnerships, and entry points for EU support. The findings and recommendations will be consolidated into a final Scope Study and Action document to guide EU action effectively.
