The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), acting as the Philippine Focal Point, started the process of selecting the country’s bet for the first ASEAN Mineral Awards (AMA) for the Recognition of Best Practices in Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Mineral Development thru a consultative meeting with industry leaders and other government heads recently.

The AMA is a project of the Special Task Force (STF) under the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Minerals (ASOMM).  The STF consists of representatives from the ASEAN Member States, namely: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The competition has three categories: Best Practices in Mineral Mining (including Quarry), Best Practices in Mineral Processing (including Smelting), and Best Practices in Minerals Distribution (including Transportation, Handling, Storage).

A country can submit only one entry per category.  One winner and two runners-up will be chosen for each category.

A Board of Judges (BOJ) was created among STF members who will evaluate and select the winners based on the Guidelines previously formulated by the STF members.  The Indonesian Focal Point is the Chair of the BOJ.

Currently, the Philippines is in the process of creating the PH-AMA Committee to be composed of technical experts from MGB, other government authorities, universities, professional groups, and research institutions.  It will accept and screen nominees starting this February.  The official entries will be submitted to the BOJ before March 31, 2017. 

Three shortlisted entries per category shall be chosen and announced by the BOJ by September 15 this year.  They shall be invited to give a presentation before the BOJ in conjunction with the November 2017 ASOMM Meeting in Myanmar.

The announcement of winners will be made during the Awarding Ceremony to be held in conjunction with the gala dinner of the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Minerals on November 2017 in Myanmar.  The winners for each category will be awarded with a trophy and a Certificate and the runners-up will be given a Certificate. 

By: Mineral Economics, Information and Publications Division