Philippines to 'seriously consider' ore export ban

Manila

THE Philippine Lower House of Congress will fast-track hearings on a bill to amend the country's mining act, including a measure that would ban raw mineral-ore exports, echoing Indonesia's move to halt shipments more than two years ago.

"It sounds right and we will seriously consider it," Congressman Carlos Isagani Zarate, who heads the House Natural Resources Committee, said of the proposal which forms part of a broader plan to revamp the mining industry and retain more of the country's wealth domestically.