The Board of Investments (BOI) and the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman, through the Department of Mining, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering (DMMME), have agreed on a collaboration project to address the gap in the local copper value chain and support the development of downstream industries.
Trade Undersecretary and BOI Managing Head Ceferino S. Rodolfo said both parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to develop mutual cooperation and understanding in areas of interest, foremost is for the Copper Rod Research Project.
Specifically, the parties will collaborate on a project for a Technical and Economic Feasibility Study for the Establishment and Improvement of a Local Copper Rod Casting Facility. The research project is titled “Development of Copper Rods with High Conductivity and Low Breakability for the Philippine Wire and Cable industry (also known as Cu-Rod Project).”
Undersecretary Rodolfo briefly discussed the project with representatives from the UP DMMME at the signing ceremony on August 29, 2025.
He also shared with them the government’s efforts to advance the critical minerals industry in the Philippines. The DMMME representatives, for their part, emphasized the need for data from the BOI to ensure the success of the feasibility report.
Based on the MOA, the BOI will provide non-financial support in the form of materials such as a pre-feasibility study on a copper wire rod casting plant, and offer technical advice including industry data and information. The agency will also provide endorsements to industry partners. UP-DMMME also sought BOI’s expertise to provide substantial sectoral inputs on the said project as the implementing agency of the Copper Industry Roadmap (CIR).
Ultimately, the UP DMMME team will prepare the technical and economic feasibility report and will be ready to present the results in forums that are agreed upon by the BOI and the UP DMMME.
The Cu-rod Project is a DOST-PCIEERD grant which is anchored on the CIR, particularly in the development of downstream copper products. Other projects undertaken by the UP DMMME team focus on copper anodes and copper cathodes, also under the PCIEERD grant.
Developing the country’s critical minerals sector aligns with the government’s goal to create a virtuous cycle of sustained economic growth that fundamentally transforms the Philippine economy.
