The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines has asked the government for some leeway in meeting both volume and investment targets, given challenges presented by the global financial crsis on the local mining industry.

At the second day of the Mining Financial Forum in Makati City, Chamber of Mines president Benjamin Romualdez urged the government, through environment secretary Lito Atienza, to give the industry some "relief" in the previously promised deliverables.

The government expected to acquire some $10 billion in mining investments by 2011, but Romualdez earlier said this may be delayed as challenges presented by the crisis include tightening credit, swinging commodity prices, and higher financing costs.

"There is a force majeur that is taking place. There is a global recession, a global downturn that is impacting severely on earnings, borrowing costs, and the basic feasibility of these projects," Romualdez said.

He added that the crisis has forced a lot of the mining companies to go back to their feasibility studies, and input some considerations such as higher financing costs. The mining companies also need to scour for alternative sources of funding as tradional fund sources, such as banks, tighten their credit conditions

Volatile commodity prices have also led to lower revenues, he added.

"Many of the companies are on assessment mode. Many of them have started to first cut expenses, manage their cash and look with a more hopeful eye as to what possibly the world will shape out to be," Romualdez said.