Friday, July 04, 2008 Amcor, BHP Billiton talks fail By Ben O. Tesiorna
THE negotiations between mining giant BHP Billiton and its Filipino partner Asiaticus Management Corporation (Amcor), which was brokered by Environment Secretary Lito Atienza in Singapore last week, were a failure.
BHP Billiton's Stainless Steel Material president Jimmy Wilson failed to attend the meeting and sent his representative instead to meet with Amcor's top officials.
Vicente Jayme, president of Amcor, said Wilson's non-attendance on the brokered meeting just shows how arrogant the Australian mining officials are. He said Wilson earlier promised to attend the Singapore meeting.
Jayme said the representative sent by Wilson could not even make a decision regarding their demand for the immediate operation of the Pujada Nickel Mining project in the barangays of Cabuaya and Macambol in the City of Mati, Davao Oriental.
"It's so sad that they (BHP) are still arrogant. Their president did not attend as he promised and merely sent a representative who merely talked without putting anything on the negotiating table," Jayme said.
The meeting was held around 9 p.m. of June 24 at Singapore's Swisotel-Standford Hotel. Attending the meeting were Amcor chief executive officer Pedro Tan and Secretary Atienza.
Jayme said they did not even bother getting the name of the BHP representative.
He added that with the failure of their talks, Amcor will keep on with its fight and will start operation of the project by 2010 as it promised to the community and the government.
Amcor has expressed gratitude to Atienza for his initiative and concern on the conflict between the two mining partners.
Davao Oriental Governor Corazon Malanyaon, for his part, was disappointed that the talks failed. She just hopes that the two mining companies would finally settle their differences and move on for the good of the community.
