PH as Newest Member of CRIRSCO

Original article: https://www.philippine-resources.com/articles/2024/4/ph-as-newest-member-of-crirsco

[Rio de Janeiro, Brazil] Oct. 17, 2023 – A ceremony that formally welcomes the Philippines as a new member of Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards (CRIRSCO) – (L-R) Philippine Mineral Reporting Code Committee representatives, Rolando Cruz (VP of Nickel Asia Corp.) and Ciceron Angeles, Jr. (PMRCC Chairman and Consulting Geologist), with Edson Ribiero (CRIRSCO President) and Peter Stokes (Australia CRIRSCO representative)

The Philippine Mineral Reporting Code (PMRC) sets out the minimum standards, recommendations, and guidelines for public reporting in the Philippines of Exploration Results, Exploration Targets, Mineral Resources, and Mineral Reserves,” [1] as explained by Mr. Ciceron Angeles, Jr., PMRC Committee Chairman and Consulting Geologist.

In November 2021, the PMRC Committee (PMRCC) applied for membership in the highly regarded Committee for Mineral Resources International Reporting Standards (CRIRSCO).

CRIRSCO is a grouping of international representatives of organizations that are responsible for developing mineral reporting codes and guidelines. The other member countries are Australasia (JORC), Brazil (CBRR), Canada (CIM), Chile (National Committee), Colombia (CCRR), Europe (PERC), India (NACRI), Indonesia (KOMBERS/KCMI), Kazakhstan (KAZRC), Mongolia (MPIGM), Russia (OERN), South Africa (SAMREC), Turkey (UMREK) and the USA (SME). CRIRSCO was founded in 1994. The group is responsible for developing best practices for reporting mineral resources.

The main objective of CRIRSCO is to contribute to earnings and maintaining that trust by promoting high standards of reporting of mineral deposit estimates (Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves) and of exploration.

When the Philippines’ PMRCC applied for membership in CRIRSCO in Nov. 2021, they are hoping to be approved before GEOCON 2023 in December. Fortunately, they received the approval they applied for in the timeframe they hoped for.

On Oct. 17, 2023, a ceremony was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil that formally welcomes the Philippines as a new member of CRIRSCO, thus making the PMRCC its 15th Member. This recognition also promotes the PMRC 2020 as one of CRIRSCO’s “family of codes”.

Representing the Philippines under PMRCC are Mr. Rolando Cruz (VP of Nickel Asia Corp.) and Mr. Ciceron Angeles, Jr. (PMRCC Chair and Consulting Geologist).

PMRCC is the Philippine’s reporting organization that is responsible for maintaining guidelines that ensure transparency, materiality, and competency, as a means to protect the investors, the public and other stakeholders.

With this milestone for PMRCC, they believe that the Philippines will now have a better chance of attracting more mining investments, because PMRCC is now at par with the standards of the other members of CRIRSCO.

Mr. Angeles said, “Joining CRIRSCO is a testament to our commitment to upholding the highest standards of reporting and ensuring the protection of investors. By aligning with internationally recognized reporting standards, we are strengthening the credibility and integrity of the Philippine minerals industry.”

In following the CRIRSCO framework, the PMRC abides by the key principles of transparency, materiality, and competence.

• Transparency will guarantee that all pertinent information is reported.

• Materiality pertains to the disclosure of all factors that will affect the company’s share price and profitability.

• Competence requires that the person who will be tasked to prepare the public disclosure reports is qualified and trustworthy.

The PMRC 2020 Edition (PMRC 2020) was approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in September 2021.

“The PMRCC in collaboration of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) is in the final stages of the drafting of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the PMRC 2020. It will still undergo a public hearing and a PSE comment period before PSE submits it to SEC for approval before the end of this year.” (From “The Philippine Mineral Reporting Code (PMRC) Updates and Its Future for the Philippines” by Ciceron A. Angeles, Jr. – GEOCON 2023)

According to his report, PMRCC is still in discussion with the Department of Energy for the adoption of PMRC 2020. Coal is the last solid mineral commodity that is regulated by PSE among its listed companies but not yet by the corresponding national regulatory agency.