Photo Release

SMALL SCALE MINING: Sen. Nancy Binay on Wednesday, September 23, asked officials of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) to shed light on reports that nearly 2 million metric tons of nickel ore worth billions of pesos were extracted in Tubay, Agusan del Norte province, allegedly in violation of existing mining laws in the country. “Presidential Decree No. 1988 provides that the annual production or extraction of mineral ore in small-scale mining is limited to 50,000 metric tons but the said mining corporations, had exceeded the limit,” Binay said during a hearing presided by Sen. Chiz Escudero, chair of the Senate Environment and Natural resources Committee, Wednesday morning. (PRIB Photo by Alex Nuevaespaña/23 September 2015)