With the global financial meltdown, the local mining industry is now beginning to fear the possibility of difficulty in obtaining financing from international banks.

Chamber of Mines of the Philippines president Philip Romualdez said on Tuesday that in anticipation, they plan to convince the local financial institutions to make their loan facilities accessible to mining companies for their capital requirements. Up to now, these mine firms have relied on international banks.

“The question is not will there be jobs, but will there be available financing given the meltdown? That is why we are working with Finex [Financial Executives Institutes of the Philippines] to ensure there will be adequate financing [for the industry],” said Romualdez at the Reintegrating Globally Displaced Workers into the Local Economies Forum at the Asian Institute of Management on Tuesday.

He said the local mining sector, which contributes about $3 billion to annual exports, has the geology and resources to continue growing given the good prices of minerals internationally.

“We will know by January how strong they [international banks] are and their ability to lend to the Philippines and the Philippine mining industry,” he said, noting that many international banks are reviewing their lending policies. 

This gloomy scenario, he said, has prompted them to schedule a series of meetings with Finex next month. He added most local banks have no expertise in lending to mining projects, so only a handful of them are giving loans to mining firms. “Some others are still learning, like Banco de Oro, and those are the banks that should be lending.”

Romualdez said they will present their business plans and make the local banks understand the industry well. “It makes sense for Philippine banks to lend to Philippine mining, companies. They just have to learn more about the industry and mining, in general. It’s a question of awareness and education.”

Romualdez said the mining industry would generate about 200,000 direct jobs by next year, and would generate more employment from the allied and support industries.

So providing employment opportunities even to displaced overseas Filipino workers who have mining-related skills, such as machinery handlers, technicians, geologists, and engineers would not be such a big a problem, he said.