PRESIDENTIAL DECREE No.

463 May 17, 1974

PROVING FOR A MODERNIZED SYSTEM OF ADMINISTRATION AND DISPOSITION OF

MINERAL LANDS AND TO PROMOTE AND ENCOURAGE THE DEVELOPMENT AND
EXPLOITATION THEREOF

Section 10. Offshore Areas Established as Mineral Reservation. All submerged lands beneath the
territorial waters and on the continental shelf or its analogue in an archipelago, are hereby
established as mineral reservations subject to existing rights and the President may declare these
reservations, or parts thereof, open or closed to mining location to be disposed of in the same
manner as other mineral reservations. Submerged lands are those under water during low tide as
determined by the Bureau of Coast and Geodetic Survey.

RA 7942

Section 22. Maximum Areas for Exploration Permit. The maximum area that a qualified person may hold
at any one time shall be:

(c) Offshore, beyond five hundred meters (500m) from the mean low tide level - (1) For individuals, one
hundred (100) blocks; and (2) For partnerships, corporations, cooperatives, or associations, one
thousand (1,000) blocks.

Section 28. Maximum Areas for Mineral Agreement. - The maximum area that a qualified person may
hold at any time under a mineral agreement shall be:

(c) Offshore, in the entire Philippines - (1) For individuals, fifty (50) blocks; (2) For partnerships,
cooperatives, associations, or corporations, five hundred (500) blocks; and (3) For the exclusive
economic zone, a larger area to be determined by the Secretary.

Section 34. Maximum Contract Area. - The maximum contract area that may be granted per qualified
person, subject to relinquishment shall be: (a) 1,000 meridional blocks onshore; (b) 4,000 meridional
blocks offshore; or (c) Combinations of (a) and (b) provided that it shall not exceed the maximum limits
for onshore and offshore areas.