State-owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) has granted a P416-million credit line to the country’s first large-scale offshore mining company to augment its working capital requirements in its export production of iron ore, a top official said.
DBP President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel G. Herbosa said the bank’s assistance to JDVC Resources Corporation (JDVC) is expected to boost local production efficiency of the essential mineral and meet the expected rise in demand in anticipation of a global economic recovery.
“Supporting businesses that are commercially viable yet ecologically sound form part of our aggressive drive to deliver and usher in further economic growth in the country,” Herbosa said.
DBP is the seventh largest bank in the country in terms of assets and provides credit support to four strategic sectors of the economy – infrastructure and logistics; micro, small and medium enterprises; social services and community development; and the environment.
JDVC is the Philippines’ first large-scale offshore iron sand (Fe3O4) mining company operating in Cagayan province. It holds a 25-year Mineral Production Sharing Agreement with the National Government for a mining concession and commercial extraction of minerals such as magnetite iron sand, titanium, vanadium, and other valuable minerals.
Herbosa added that unlike onshore mining that involves heavy earth movements, offshore mining is done through the use of an environmentally-safe and ecologically-balanced siphoning vessel with an advanced technology system for the mining of minerals located under the sea.
He said JDVC is the first firm to be granted a Declaration of Mining Project Feasibility by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources which authorized the extraction and commercial disposition of magnetite sand and associated minerals in an initial area of over 1,902 hectares in Cagayan.
“We are confident about the long-term economic benefits that may be reaped from this notable project that will buttress the growth of the local steel industry. Rest assured that DBP will continue ensuring that its funded projects are always vetted in terms of potential environmental and economic impacts,” Herbosa added.