MANILA, Philippines — A mining group in Palawan poured in P224 million in 2010 for a Social Development and Management Program (SDMP), exceeding by 100 percent its compliance with the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Philippine Mining Act.

Mining companies may be perceived to be a purely for-profit organization, but Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Corp. (RTNMC) and affiliate firms under Nickel Asia Corp. (NAC) just proved in 2010 that it infused more money for infrastructure and other social projects in its impact communities, primarily in Bataraza, Palawan.

The IRR of the Mining Act in Sec. 134 indicated that mining permit holders should allot annually a minimum of one percent of operating costs (mining and processing costs) for SDMP.

If there are indigenous cultural communities or indigenous people (IP) in a mining area, royalty to the IP's, according to the IRR's Sec. 16, should be at least one percent of a company's gross output.

Under the rules, the company is only required to allocate P112.4 million for SDMP . But SDMP expense of RTNMC and other NAC firms totalled in 2010 to P224 million. This consists of education, P52 million; health programs P43.2 million; infrastructure P35.9 million; livelihood, IEC, P13.8 million; and community relations assistance, P64.8 million.

“If you compare what we spent to what is required by the law, this means we are over-compliant by 100 percent,” said said Dennis Zamora, NAC vice president. But as they abide by the law, a lesson learned for the industry, Zamora said, is that SDMP projects' significance must be measured not only on its amount but on its long term benefit to the community.

“The challenge is not just to spend more. We want to have projects that have a potential for lasting and meaningful impact on the community,” he said. Mines have a limited life, say 10 years, so that companies think of programs that may give livelihood to communities beyond the mine life.

Mining companies, whereever these are located, have faced the challenge of protecting both people and the environment as mining is an extractive industry. However, economic planners have started putting a significant weight on mines' unique opportunity to bring about economic development in farflung areas since metallic resources are found in the boondocks.

NAC, for one, put up a P4.46 million electric power generation project in an island, Sitio Campandan, within its mining area in Surigao, benefitting 2,166 natives and effectively filling in a government function.

“There is another island, Talavera (and Silang), where we provided interconnection to the power grid. Previous to that there was no no electricity in this island,” said Zamora.