A two-day forum that starts tomorrow will discuss financing options for mining ventures amid increasingly difficult economic conditions worldwide.

“The event will bring together experts from international and local financial institutions, banks, brokers, underwriters, investment houses, and political risk and insurance providers to spell out financing options for pipeline projects, mature exploration activities, expansion programs of existing operations, processing plants, as well as the re-operation of previously operating mines,” the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (CMP) said in a statement over the weekend.

“As mining projects reach various stages of development, which require large capital, the industry needs to strategize to ensure that financing options are available in critical business decisions,” the statement quoted Benjamin Philip G. Romualdez, president of the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines, as saying.

Mines and Geosciences Bureau Director Horacio C. Ramos, said in a phone interview yesterday that “[the forum] will be able to gather the opinion of experts on the future impact of the financial crisis [on the industry].”

The forum, themed: “Forward Thinking: Funding and Financing Options During Challenging Times,” is hosted by the CMP, the Philippine Stock Exchange and the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines.

Local and international financial service firms Deutsche Bank, HSBC, First Metro Investment Corp., and Morgan Stanley, as well as chief executives and ranking representatives of mining companies are expected to participate in the forum.

Topics to be discussed will include the global financial outlook for the industry, as well as opportunities and risks, valuation for metals and mining, raising capital to fund projects, structured finance and syndicated bank loans, the equities market, corporate governance and sustainability, hedging, political risk and insurance.

The government has admitted that the $10-billion investment target for 2011 would have to be delayed by at least a year due to financing difficulties.

Furthermore, full-year investments in the local mining industry likely fell short by more than a third of the $1-billion target set for last year, as companies struggled to fund projects, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau said.

Difficulties in securing financing amid tightening global credit have added to a slew of problems that have already been besetting mining investors in the Philippines, ranging from slow government processing of applications for permits to stiff opposition from local church and left-wing groups as well as host indigenous communities.

The Philippines sits atop an estimated $1 trillion worth of unexplored copper, gold, nickel and zinc reserves.

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