MANILA -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said today he wanted to stop exporting mineral resources and might close the mining sector completely and tax miners "to death" if damage to the environment persisted.
"The protection of the environment must be made a priority ahead of mining and all other activities that adversely affect one way or another," Duterte said in his State of the Nation address, his second since assuming power in June last year. "This policy is non-negotiable."
The Philippines is the world's biggest supplier of nickel ore and also among the top producers of copper and gold. ...
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-philippines...-idUSKBN1A90...
