Philippines' President Rodrigo Duterte has not made himself known as a friend of mining, which he believes is environmentally destructive. He has previously ordered extensive closures of mines in the Philippines, which led to a sharp decline in the country's large export of nickel. The Philippines is the world's second largest nickel producer.
Now Duterte strikes up his abominable policy after a landslide on the golden island of Luzon that killed 54 people. The landslide was caused by the typhoon Mangkhut but the many small-scale mines in the region are considered to have aggravated the damage by weakening soil stability. According to the site of mineral technologies, Duterte has said he wants to stop all mining operations in the Philippines.
