aboutpmea

The Philippine Mineral Exploration Association, or PMEA is a non-stock, non-profit entity organized and managed by its membership for the express purpose of providing effective and responsible representation of the mineral exploration industry. The PMEA is an associate member of the Philippine Chamber of Mines and is represented on the Chamber’s Executive Committee.

PMEA was registered with the Philippines’ Securities and Exchange Commission in July 1998. Its formation was initiated by the International Mining and Exploration Committee (IMEC), a sub-committee of the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce of the Philippines. IMEC has been in existence since the early nineties and its membership and focus had been to represent and monitor the interests of foreign mining and exploration companies who were either directly, or indirectly, investing in the Philippines.

IMEC's efforts were largely focused on the preparation of an internationally-competitive agreement with the Philippine Government, which, in accordance with the Constitution, would allow majority control and management, by non-Filipino companies. The structure and terms of this document, the Financial or Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA), was prepared by the government after extensive discussions with the representatives from IMEC with a 'pro-forma' was submitted to the Office of the President in the fourth quarter of 1997.

With the completion of the Pro-forma FTAA, it became clear that a broader organization was necessary to more effectively represent the exploration industry, including the local companies and investors. The membership of IMEC was reorganized and its efforts refocused and broadened to cover the wider range of issues affecting the exploration industry. This led to an expansion of the membership and the formation of PMEA.

Membership is open to companies; individuals or NGO's who have a bona fide interest in the growth and development of the mining and exploration industries. There are four categories of Membership:

•Regular members	Exploration or mining companies
•Associate members	Service companies, associations and NGO's
•Individuals	Individuals with an interest in the exploration industry
•Honorary	Appointees by the Board of Trustees

The Association is managed by a board of seven Trustees elected by the members at the annual membership meeting held in March. All trustees are volunteers and receive no compensation for their efforts. The Trustees elect four officers from their number: a President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer who, through a professional secretariat, collectively manage the day-to-day affairs of the Association.

The Trustees are supported by a system of specialist sub-committees who address specific issues of the day and prepare commentary and formal papers for submission to the appropriate regulatory bodies and public interest groups. The sub-committees meet on an as- needed basis and are administered by those members who have the relevant expertise and experience in the appropriate issues and topics and include the following:

PMEA seeks to stimulate interest and participation in the industry by providing appropriate fora where its members can discuss current issues and agree on a sensible course of action. The primary forum is a regular monthly meeting for members and guests, which is usually held on the first Monday of every month. It endeavors to feature a key speaker addressing issues of interest to the Exploration sector.