The government is now considering lifting the ban on open-pit mining method more than two weeks since President Rodrigo Duterte lifted the moratorium on new mining projects. In a text exchange, when asked if the government may soon lift the ban on open-pit mine, Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Director Wilfredo Moncano said, “it is being considered.” MGB Director Wilfredo Moncano (Photo credit: https://region1.mgb.gov.ph/) The ban on open-pit mining method for copper, gold, silver and/or complex ores is contained in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Administrative Order (DAO) No. 2017-10, which was signed by former Environment Secretary and late Regina Paz Lopez.