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http://www.gmanews.tv/story/200998/denr-chief-s-cotabato-to-review-law-barring-open-pit-mining

DENR chief: S. Cotabato to review law barring open-pit mining
09/14/2010 | 04:20 PM


In June, the provincial government passed into law an environment code banning open-pit mining in the province.

The local law was considered a stumbling block to the development of the Tampakan copper-gold project, the single biggest direct investment in the country to date.

Project operator Sagittarius Mines Inc. holds a financial and technical assistance agreement with the national government to develop and operate the Tampakan mine.

"We're still doing stakeholder rounds. Most of the concerned stakeholders including the tribal groups of South Cotabato have showed their support. We are committed not only to develop the copper and gold mine but also to uplift the lives of the communities that are located within our tenement," said Sagittarius Mines senior coordinator for corporate affairs Roy Antonio in a separate interview at the opening of the 2010 Philippine Mining Conference and Exhibition Tuesday at the Manila Hotel.

Paje assured quarry operators that the provincial government would somehow undo the effects of the environmental code, and that all issues surrounding it will be put to rest once the code has been reassessed."

He reaffirmed government's commitment to protect mining investments in the country, including the $5.2-billion Tampakan project.

The SMI claimed that the project is expected to employ an estimated 9,000 workers in its construction phase and over 2,000 during its regular operation.

It said that an estimated P65 billion in taxes and royalties will be paid to local government units, host barangays, and tribal communities within the mining area, and that the national government will get P225 billion in taxes for the duration of the project.

Tampakan has an estimated deposit of 13.5 million metric tons (MT) copper and 15.8 million ounces of gold, using a 0.3 percent copper cut-off grade at 0.6 percent copper and 0.2 grams per MT gold.

The mine also contains average grades of molybdenum at 70 parts per million.


http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/277091/project-seen-lift-tribal-communities


Project Seen to Lift Tribal Communities
September 14, 2010, 6:35pm
TAMPAKAN, South Cotabato The chair of the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP) expressed support to the ongoing exploration and eventual operations of mineral development firm Sagittarius Mines Inc. on the $6-billion Tampakan Copper Gold Project.
Lawyer Roque Agton, NCIP secretary, said his office fully supports undertakings aimed at developing tribal communities, and the Tampakan Copper Gold Project is one venture that will bring immense progress and development to tribal communities not only in Tampakan but in other provinces as well.
This is what our tribal people in Tampakan have been waiting for long and it must be realized, Agton said after recent ceremonies marking the first provincial tribal summit in South Cotabato.
The summit, attended by hundreds of tribal leaders and residents, also featured the passage of two resolutions vital to the tribal residents of South Cotabato and the turnover of a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) to the Blaan tribe in Tampakan.
Agton said he is happy to see unity among the tribal communities in the province even as he lamented on the continued exploitation of many indigenous people.
He said that indigenous people should always practice and show their good-natured traits mean to those who exploit, but, grateful and kind to those who do well.
Blaan chieftain Dalina Samling of Danlag in Tampakan, who received the CADT in behalf of the Blaan tribal community in the area, said they are very happy that after years of waiting and working for the CADT, they have finally received it.

http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideOpinion.htm?f=2010/september/14/tonylavina.isx&d=2010/september/14


Today, in the Philippines, the ground zero of mining is Tampakan, South Cotabato, where the largest untapped copper deposit in Southeast Asia can be found. Sagittarius Mines Incorporated, a company majority-owned by global mining firm Xstrata Plc., has the legal right to develop the Tampakan deposit. Already, the US$5-6 billion project has been delayed by a decade when the legality of the Mining Act of 1995 and in particular the Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement held by SMI was questioned before and eventually upheld by the Supreme Court. With the legal case out of the way and the mining feasibility done, what was left for SMI to do was to get an environmental clearance for the Tampakan project.
Unfortunately for the project, on June 25, the outgoing governor of South Cotabato, now Rep. Daisy Fuentes, signed into law the provinces Environmental Code. Passed by an overwhelming 9-1 vote in the provincial legislature, arguably a strong manifestation of the will of the people of the province, the Code bans the use of open-pit mining (the technology that will be used to extract the minerals from Tampakan).
The legality of the South Cotabato Environmental Code has been assailed by critics who point out that the Mining Act, which does not prohibit open-pit mining, should prevail over the provincial Environmental Code. They argue that a national law is superior to a local ordinance. Under the Mining Act, the DENR (through the Mines and Geosciences Bureau) is the primary agency responsible for the management and use of the States mineral resources and its Secretary is given the authority to enter into mineral agreements on behalf of the government. On the other hand, under the Local Government Code, local government units are authorized to come up with measures intended to protect the general welfare. With such a mandate, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (provincial legislature) can enact ordinances to protect the environment. In addition, Section 27 of the LGC requires prior approval of the Sanggunian (council) concerned before any national project, including mining projects, is implemented within their territorial jurisdiction.
How then can we move forwardon Tampakan specifically and on mining generally? The burden is principally on the national government who must now balance all legitimate interests. Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Ramon Paje, with the full support of the President, should establish a transparent, participatory and credible multi-stakeholder negotiation and consensus-building process for this. Because it seems inevitable that this matter will be taken to court, the parties could also take advantage of the provision in the new Rules of Procedure for Environmental Cases which allows of a consent decree, a judicially-approved settlement between the parties that could stipulate the conditions under which the Tampakan project could proceed. This is certainly a more viable and less costly (money and time wise) option compared to a protracted legal battle where the outcome is far from certain.
Whether such a negotiation happens in a judicial or other context, I suggest strongly that the process be assisted by independent third party facilitators who have the trust of all the stakeholders. And in that process, the following outcomes should be sought: the promotion of sustainable development; encouragement of responsible investments; a revenue sharing regime that is fair to host communities and to the country; uncompromising protection of the environment; and respect for local autonomy and indigenous peoples rights (most of the Tampakan mineral deposit is in the ancestral domain of indigenous peoples). It is likely that we will not achieve all these outcomes but if we approximate most or a majority of them, it would not be so bad. Not perfect, not at all, but maybe good.