Open pit mining banned in South Cotabato

KORONADAL CITY -- Leaders of the local Catholic Church hierarchy rejoiced after the Provincial Board in South Cotabato voted to ban open pit mining method in the province.

The ban is contained in the long-deliberated environment code of the province.

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Open pit mining is a kind of surface mining where rocks and minerals are taken out of the ground. Open pit mining is only used if the rocks or minerals are close to the surface of the land or if a normal tunnel-type of mine isn't possible.

South Cotabato, particularly Tampakan town, is at the center of rich resources, particularly copper and gold deposits that Sagittarius Mines, Inc., a foreign-backed company, has been pursuing for development.

The Tampakan project is touted as the largest undeveloped copper resources in Southeast Asia.

In a marathon session Wednesday, the board members voted five to four in favor of the provision banning open pit mining. There was one abstention while two other members were absent during the deliberation of the bill, where amendments were made section by section.

The voting centered on the sentence "mining in any form shall not be allowed in the province of South Cotabato," but it was later amended to "open pit mining method shall not be allowed in the province of South Cotabato."

"[It's] Divine intervention!" declared Fr. Romeo Q. Catedral, social action director of the Diocese of Marbel, who is at the forefront of the religious congregation's opposition against large-scale mining.

"This is a triumph for the people not only of South Cotabato but also nearby provinces," the priest said.

In the past two weeks, Catedral and other anti-mining groups have followed up the passage of the Environment Code -- praying, begging, and cajoling members of the board to leave a legacy that would protect the people and environment from the harms of open-pit mining.

Catedral said they will continue watching closely the deliberations until the environment code becomes an ordinance before June 30 as promised by the members of the board. The deliberation to approve the code has been going on in the last few years.

John B. Arnaldo, Sagittarius corporate communications manager, said the provincial ban on open pit "won't have a bearing in as far as the plans of the company to pursue the Tampakan project."

"The Philippine Mining Act [Republic Act 7942] allows open pit mining. A local law cannot supersede a national law," he said in a phone interview.

Arnaldo said the company will continue with its best practice that is to continue the dialogues with the stakeholders.

"We respect the opinion and concerns of all our stakeholders," he said in reaction to the Provincial Board's decision banning open pit mining.

South Cotabato Vice Governor Eliordo U. Ogena, the presiding officer of the Provincial Board, was unavailable for an interview on the board's decision.

But asked whether such action would undermine investors' confidence in the Tampakan project, Arnaldo gave no categorical answers.

Sagittarius' 40 percent controlling equity in the Tampakan project is held by Xstrata Copper, the world's fourth largest copper producer, with 62.5 percent, while the rest is owned by Australian firm Indophil Resources NL.

The 60 percent non-controlling equity shareholders of Sagittarius are the Tampakan Mining Corp. and Southcot Mining Corp. (known as the Tampakan Group of Companies).

Indophil is in talks with Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd, China's largest gold producer and third largest copper producer, for the acquisition of its interest in the Tampakan project, which also straddles the towns of Columbio in Sultan Kudarat and Kiblawan in Davao del Sur.

Based on the Sagittarius' latest resource estimates, the Tampakan project involves 2.4 billion tons of minerals, containing 13.5 million tons of copper and 15.8 million ounces of gold.

The Tampakan project, which has been adopted by the Regional Development Council and the Regional Mineral Development Council as Central Mindanao's flagship project, is facing stiff opposition from the local Catholic Church and the communist New People's Army, the latter twice launching violent attacks against the company since 2008.

Besides copper and gold, South Cotabato is also rich in coal reserves. (Bong S. Sarmiento/Sunnex)