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This page features the full text of
Republic Act No. 7076
"People's
Small-Scale Mining Act of 1991"
AN
ACT CREATING A PEOPLE'S SMALL-SCALE MINING PROGRAM AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES.
REPUBLIC
ACT NO. 7076
AN
ACT CREATING A PEOPLE'S SMALL-SCALE MINING PROGRAM AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES.
Section
1. Title. — This Act shall be
known as the "People's Small-scale Mining Act of 1991."
chanrobles virtuallaw libraryred
Sec.
2. Declaration of Policy. — It
is hereby declared of the State to promote, develop, protect and
rationalize
viable small-scale mining activities in order to generate more
employment
opportunities and provide an equitable sharing of the nation's wealth
and
natural resources, giving due regard to existing rights as herein
provided.chanrobles virtuallaw libraryred
Sec.
3. Definitions. — For purposes
of this Act, the following terms shall be defined as follows:
(a) "Mineralized
areas" refer to areas with naturally occurring mineral deposits of
gold,
silver, chromite, kaolin, silica, marble, gravel, clay and like mineral
resources;
chanrobles virtuallaw libraryred(b) "Small-scale
mining" refers to mining activities which rely heavily on manual labor
using simple implement and methods and do not use explosives or heavy
mining
equipment;
(c) "Small-scale
miners" refer to Filipino citizens who, individually or in the company
of other Filipino citizens, voluntarily form a cooperative duly
licensed
by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to engage, under
the terms and conditions of a contract, in the extraction or removal of
minerals or ore-bearing materials from the ground;
(d) "Small-scale
mining contract" refers to co-production, joint venture or mineral
production
sharing agreement between the State and a small-scale mining contractor
for the small-scale utilization of a plot of mineral land;
(e) "Small-scale
mining contractor" refers to an individual or a cooperative of
small-scale
miners, registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission or other
appropriate government agency, which has entered into an agreement with
the State for the small-scale utilization of a plot of mineral land
within
a people's small-scale mining area;
(f) "Active
mining area" refers to areas under actual exploration, development,
exploitation
or commercial production as determined by the Secretary after the
necessary
field investigation or verification including contiguous and
geologically
related areas belonging to the same claimowner and/or under contract
with
an operator, but in no case to exceed the maximum area allowed by law;
(g) "Existing
mining right" refers to perfected and subsisting claim, lease, license
or permit covering a mineralized area prior to its declaration as a
people's
small-scale mining area;
(h) "Claimowner"
refers to a holder of an existing mining right;
(i) "Processor"
refers to a person issued a license to engage in the treatment of
minerals
or ore-bearing materials such as by gravity concentration, leaching
benefication,
cyanidation, cutting, sizing, polishing and other similar activities;
(j) "License"
refers to the privilege granted to a person to legitimately pursue his
occupation as a small-scale miner or processor under this Act;chanrobles virtuallaw libraryred
(k) "Mining
plan" refers to a two-year program of activities and methodologies
employed
in the extraction and production of minerals or ore-bearing materials,
including the financial plan and other resources in support thereof;
(l) "Director"
refers to the regional executive director of the Department of
Environment
and Natural Resources; and
(m) "Secretary"
refers to the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources.
Sec.
4. People's Small-scale Mining
Program. — For the purpose of carrying out the declared policy provided
in Section 2 hereof, there is hereby established a People's Small-scale
Mining Program to be implemented by the Secretary of the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources, hereinafter called the Department,
in
coordination with other concerned government agencies, designed to
achieve
an orderly, systematic and rational scheme for the small-scale
development
and utilization of mineral resources in certain mineral areas in order
to address the social, economic, technical, and environmental connected
with small-scale mining activities.
The
People's Small-scale Mining Program shall include the following
features:chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(a) The
identification, segregation and reservation of certain mineral lands as
people's small-scale mining areas;(b) The
recognition of prior existing rights and productivity;
(c) The
encouragement of the formation of cooperatives;
(d) The
extension of technical and financial assistance, and other social
services;
(e) The
extension of assistance in processing and marketing;
(f) The
generation of ancillary livelihood activities;chanrobles virtuallaw libraryred
(g) The
regulation of the small-scale mining industry with the view to
encourage
growth and productivity; and
(h) The
efficient collection of government revenue.
Sec.
5. Declaration of People's Small-scale
Mining Areas. — The Board is hereby authorized to declare and set aside
people's small-scale mining areas in sites onshore suitable for
small-scale
mining, subject to review by the Secretary, immediately giving priority
to areas already occupied and actively mined by small-scale miners
before
August 1, 1987: Provided, That such areas are not considered as active
mining areas: Provided, further, That the minerals found therein are
technically
and commercially suitable for small-scale mining activities: Provided,
finally, That the areas are not covered by existing forest rights or
reservations
and have not been declared as tourist or marine reserved, parks and
wildlife
reservations, unless their status as such is withdrawn by competent
authority.
chan
robles
virtual law library
Sec.
6. Future People's Small-scale
Mining Areas. — The following lands, when suitable for small-scale
mining,
may be declared by the Board as people's small scale mining areas:chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(a) Public
lands not subject to any existing right;chan
robles vi
rtual
law library(b) Public
lands covered by existing mining rights which are not active mining
areas;
and
(c) Private
lands, subject to certain rights and conditions, except those with
substantial
improvements or in bona fide and regular use as a yard, stockyard,
garden,
plant nursery, plantation, cemetery or burial site, or land situated
within
one hundred meters (100 m.) from such cemetery or burial site, water
reservoir
or a separate parcel of land with an area of ten thousand square meters
(10,000 sq. m.) or less.
Sec.
7. Ancestral Lands. — No ancestral
land may be declared as a people's small-scale mining area without the
prior consent of the cultural communities concerned: Provided, That, if
ancestral lands are declared as people's small-scale mining areas, the
members of the cultural communities therein shall be given priority in
the awarding of small-scale mining contracts.
chan
robles
virtual law library
Sec.
8. Registration of Small-scale
Miners. — All persons undertaking small-scale mining activities shall
register
as miners with the Board and may organize themselves into cooperatives
in order to qualify for the awarding of a people's small-scale mining
contract.
Sec.
9. Award of People's Small-scale
Mining Contracts. — A people's small-scale mining contract may be
awarded
by the Board to small-scale miners who have voluntarily organized and
have
duly registered with the appropriate government agency as an individual
miner or cooperative; Provided, That only one (1) people's small-scale
mining contract may be awarded at any one time to a small-scale mining
operations within one (1) year from the date of award: Provided,
further,
That priority shall be given or city where the small-scale mining area
is located.
Applications
for a contract shall be subject to a reasonable fee to be paid to the
Department
of Environment and Natural Resources regional office having
jurisdiction
over the area.chanrobles virtuallaw libraryred
Sec.
10. Extent of Contract Area.
— The Board shall determine the reasonable size and shape of the
contract
area following the meridional block system established under
Presidential
Decree No. 463, as amended, otherwise known as the Mineral Resources
Development
Decree of 1974, but in no case shall the area exceed twenty hectares
(20
has.) per contractor and the depth or length of the tunnel or adit not
exceeding that recommended by the director taking into account the
following
circumstances:
(a) Size
of membership and capitalization of the cooperative;(b) Size
of mineralized area;
(c) Quantity
of mineral deposits;
(d) Safety
of miners;chanrobles virtuallaw libraryred
(e) Environmental
impact and other considerations; and
(f) Other
related circumstances.
Sec.
11. Easement Rights. — Upon the
declaration of a people's small-scale mining area, the director, in
consultation
with the operator, claimowner, landowner or lessor of an affected area,
shall determine the right of the small scale miners to existing
facilities
such as mining and logging roads, private roads, port and communication
facilities, processing plants which are necessary for the effective
implementation
of the People's Small-scale Mining Program, subject to payment of
reasonable
fees to the operator, claimowner, landowner or lessor.
chan robles
virtual law library
Sec.
12. Rights Under a People's Small-scale
Mining Contract. — A people's small-scale mining contract entitles the
small-scale mining contractor to the right to mine, extract and dispose
of mineral ores for commercial purposes. In no case shall a small-scale
mining contract be subcontracted, assigned or otherwise transferred.
Sec.
13. Terms and Conditions of the
Contract. — A contract shall have a term of two (2) years, renewable
subject
to verification by the Board for like periods as long as the contractor
complies with the provisions set forth in this Act, and confers upon
the
contractor the right to mine within the contract area: Provided, That
the
holder of a small-scale mining contract shall have the following duties
and obligations:
(a) Undertake
mining activities only in accordance with a mining plan duly approved
by
the Board;(b) Abide
by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau and the small-scale Mining Safety
Rules
and Regulations;
(c) Comply
with his obligations to the holder of an existing mining right;
(d) Pay
all taxes, royalties or government production share as are now or may
hereafter
be provided by law;
(e) Comply
with pertinent rules and regulations on environmental protection and
conservation,
particularly those on tree-cutting mineral-processing and pollution
control;
(f) File
under oath at the end of each month a detailed production and financial
report to the Board; and
(g) Assume
responsibility for the safety of persons working in the mines.
Sec.
14. Rights of Claimowners. —
In case a site declared and set aside as a people's-scale mining area
is
covered by an existing mining right, the claimowner and the small-scale
miners therein are encouraged to enter into a voluntary and acceptable
contractual agreement with respect to the small-scale utilization of
the
mineral values from the area under claim. In case of disagreement, the
claimowner shall be entitled to the following rights and privileges:chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(a) Exemption
from the performance of annual work obligations and payment of
occupation
fees, rental, and real property taxes;chanrobles virtuallaw libraryred(b) Subject
to the approval of the Board, free access to the contract area to
conduct
metallurgical tests, explorations and other activities, provided such
activities
do not unduly interfere with the operations of the small-scale miners;
and
(c) Royalty
equivalent to one and one half percent (1 1/2%) of the gross value of
the
metallic mineral output or one percent (1%) of the gross value of the
nonmetallic
mineral output to be paid to the claimowner: Provided, That such rights
and privileges shall be available only if he is not delinquent and
other
performance of his annual work obligations and other requirements for
the
last two (2) years prior to the effectivity of this Act.
Sec.
15. Rights of Private Landowners.
— The private landowner or lawful possessor shall be notified of any
plan
or petition to declare his land as a people's small-scale mining area.
Said landowner may oppose such plan or petition in an appropriate
proceeding
and hearing conducted before the Board.
chan robles
virtual law library
If
a private land is declared as a people's small-scale mining area, the
owner
and the small-scale mining contractors are encouraged to enter into a
voluntary
and acceptable contractual agreement for the small-scale utilization of
the mineral values from the private land: Provided, That the owner
shall
in all cases be entitled to the payment of actual damages which he may
suffer as a result of such declaration: Provided, further, That
royalties
paid to the owner shall in no case exceed one percent (1%) of the gross
value of the minerals recovered as royalty.
Sec.
16. Ownership of Mill Tailings.
— The small-scale mining contractor shall be the owner of all mill
tailings
produced from the contract area. He may sell the tailings or have them
processed in any custom mill in the area: Provided, That, if the
small-scale
mining contractor decide to sell its mill tailings, the claimowner
shall
have a preemptive right to purchase said mill tailings at the
prevailing
market price.
Sec.
17. Sale of Gold. — All gold
produced by small-scale miners in any mineral area shall be sold to the
Central Bank, or its duly authorized representatives, which shall buy
it
at prices competitive with those prevailing in the world market
regardless
of volume or weight.
The
Central Bank shall establish as many buying stations in gold-rush areas
to fully service the requirements of the small-scale minerals thereat.
Sec.
18. Custom Mills. — The establishment
and operation of safe and efficient customs mills to process minerals
or
ore-bearing materials shall be limited to mineral processing zones duly
designated by the local government unit concerned upon recommendation
of
the Board.
In
mining areas where the private sector is unable to establish custom
mills,
the Government shall construct such custom mills upon the
recommendation
of the Board based on the viability of the project.
The
Board shall issue licenses for the operation of custom mills and other
processing plants subject to pollution control and safety standards.
The
Department shall establish assay laboratories to cross-check the
integrity
of custom mills and to render metallurgical and laboratory services to
mines.
Custom
mills shall be constituted as withholding agents for the royalties,
production
share or other taxes due the Government.
Sec.
19. Government Share and Allotment.
— The revenue to be derived by the Government from the operation of the
mining program herein established shall be subject to the sharing
provided
in the Local Government Code.
Sec.
20. People's Small-scale Mining
Protection Fund. — There is hereby created a People's Small-scale
Mining
Protection Fund which shall be fifteen percent (15%) of the national
government's
share due the Government which shall be used primarily for information
dissemination and training of small-scale miners on safety, health and
environmental protection, and the establishment of mine rescue and
recovery
teams including the procurement of rescue equipment necessary in cases
of emergencies such as landslides, tunnel collapse, or the like.
The
fund shall also be made available to address the needs of the
small-scale
miners brought about by accidents and/or fortuitous events.
Sec.
21. Rescission of Contracts and
Administrative Fines. — The noncompliance with the terms and conditions
of the contract or violation of the rules and regulations issued by the
Secretary pursuant to this Act, as well as the abandonment of the
mining
site by the contractor, shall constitute a ground for the cancellation
of the contracts and the ejectment from the people's small-scale mining
area of the contractor. In addition, the Secretary may impose fines
against
the violator in an amount of not less than Twenty thousand pesos
(P20,000.00)
and not more than One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00). Nonpayment
of the fine imposed shall render the small-scale mining contractor
ineligible
for other small-scale mining contracts.chanrobles virtuallaw libraryred
Sec.
22. Reversion of People's Small-scale
Mining Areas. — The Secretary, upon recommendation of the director,
shall
withdraw the status of the people's small-scale mining area when it can
no longer feasibly operated on a small-scale mining basis or when the
safety,
health and environmental conditions warrant that the same shall revert
to the State for proper disposition.
Sec.
23. Actual Occupation by Small-scale
Miners. — Small-scale miners who have been in actual operation of
mineral
lands on or before August 1, 1987 as determined by the Board shall not
be dispossessed, ejected or removed from said areas: Provided, That
they
comply with the provisions of this Act.
Sec.
24. Provincial/City Mining Regulatory
Board. — There is hereby created under the direct supervision and
control
of the Secretary a provincial/city mining regulatory board, herein
called
the Board, which shall be the implementing agency of the Department,
and
shall exercise the following powers and functions, subject to review by
the Secretary:
(a) Declare
and segregate existing gold-rush areas for small-scale mining;chan
robles
virtual law library(b) Reserve
future gold and other mining areas for small-scale mining;
(c) Award
contracts to small-scale miners;
(d) Formulate
and implement rules and regulations related to small-scale mining;
(e) Settle
disputes, conflicts or litigations over conflicting claims within a
people's
small-scale mining area, an area that is declared a small-mining; and
(f) Perform
such other functions as may be necessary to achieve the goals and
objectives
of this Act.
Sec.
25. Composition of the Provincial/City
Mining Regulatory Board. — The Board shall be composed of the
Department
of Environment and Natural Resources representative as Chairman; and
the
representative of the governor or city mayor, as the representative of
the governor or city mayor, as the case may be, one (1) small scale
mining
representative, one (1) big-scale mining representative, and the
representative
from a nongovernment organization who shall come from an environmental
group, as members.
chan robles
virtual law library
The
representatives from the private sector shall be nominated by their
respective
organizations and appointed by the Department regional director. The
Department
shall provide the staff support to the Board.chanrobles virtuallaw libraryred
Sec.
26. Administrative Supervision
over the People's Small-scale Mining Program. — The Secretary through
his
representative shall exercise direct supervision and control over the
program
and activities of the small-scale miners within the people's
small-scale
mining area.
The
Secretary shall within ninety (90) days from the effectivity of this
Act
promulgate rules and regulations to effectively implement the
provisions
of the same. Priority shall be given to such rules and regulations that
will ensure the least disruption in the operations of the small-scale
miners.
Sec.
27. Penal Sanctions. — Violations
of the provisions of this Act or of the rules and regulations issued
pursuant
hereto shall be penalized with imprisonment of not less than six (6)
months
nor more than six (6) years and shall include the confiscation and
seizure
of equipment, tools and instruments.
Sec.
28. Repealing Clause. — All laws,
decrees, letters of instruction, executive orders, rules and
regulations,
and other issuances, or parts thereof, in conflict or inconsistent with
this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.
Sec.
29. Separability Clause. — Any
section or provision of this Act which may be declared unconstitutional
shall not affect the other sections or provisions hereof.
Sec.
30. Effectivity. — This Act shall
take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official
Gazette
or in a national newspaper of general circulation.chanrobles virtuallaw libraryred
Approved:
June 27, 1991
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Since 19.07.98
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to Top - Back
to Main Index - Back
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Copyright©1998-2006 by
ChanRobles
Publishing Company
All Rights Reserved
Since 19.07.98
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