The Mining Crisis in World's Top Nickel Shipper: QuickTake Q&A

The Philippines is a trove of mineral resources, with deposits of nickel, copper and gold. As prices rise and the economy in China -- customer No. 1 -- hums along, these should be good times for Philippine miners. Instead of relishing the opportunities, the industry’s in crisis. Environment Secretary Gina Lopez wants to shut more than half of the country’s mines, and producers are fighting back, hard. The showdown has implications beyond the Philippines, with the potential to hit global supplies.

Lopez isn’t your run-of-the-mill official. Appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte last year, the environmentalist-turned-regulator immediately launched a nationwide checkup of the mines. For Lopez, many operations are simply incompatible with the Asian nation’s fragile ecology, and she often alleges that the companies don’t do enough to alleviate poverty in local communities. Of special concern is protecting water resources, or as she’s put it with trademark zest: “You kill water, you kill life. It’s not good for economic growth.”