The national government has earned PHP182.6 million in excise tax in 2023 from the mining operations of two firms in Homonhon Island in Guiuan, Eastern Samar, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) reported on Tuesday.

MGB Eastern Visayas regional director Glenn Marcelo Noble said some 8.22 million metric tons (MT) of nickel ore were shipped to China last year, and firms paid PHP172.84 million in taxes to the national government.

For the shipment of 25,900 MT of chromite concentrate last year to China, the company paid PHP9.77 million in taxes.

“This is on top of income tax and expenses for the community under the social development program, which is 1 percent of their operating cost,” Noble told reporters.

The 25-year mineral production sharing agreement (MPSA) approved in 2009 allowed the Nickelace Inc. and Chromiteking Inc. to extract chromite within the 300-hectare area of the island.

Despite opposition from several groups, Noble said mining extraction on the island creates economic opportunities.

“The MPSA is a government project, and our MPSA holders are contractors. Mining has been very controversial to some, but in the case of Homonhon, there have been no grave violations. What you see on social media are photographs of siltation ponds that collect water for settling sediments before it drains to the ocean,” Noble added.

Nickel and chromite are abundant in Homonhon, where Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his crew first set foot on Philippine soil 500 years ago.

According to rsc.org, nickel steel is used for armor plating. Boat propeller shafts and turbine blades utilized other alloys of nickel.

Nickel is used in batteries, including rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries, and nickel-metal-hydride batteries in hybrid vehicles.

Nickel has a long history of being used in coins.

Chromite, on the other hand, is used as a refractory material in producing steel, copper, glass, and cement. (PNA)