Tuesday, April 17, 2007 Mayors support Xstrata takeover
KORONADAL CITY -- Top local government executives within a huge copper and gold venture reiterated their continuing support to the project as a new management takes over the reign.
Mayors Jaime Caminero of Kiblawan in Davao del Sur, Edwin Bermudez of Columbio in Sultan Kudarat and Claudius Barroso of Tampakan in South Cotabato last Wednesday afternoon issued a signed manifesto of support to the venture now controlled by Xstrata Copper.
"Our continuing support to the Tampakan project is significantly anchored on the responsible mineral development framework in pursuit of sustainable countryside development," they said.
Based in Brisbane, Australia, Xstrata assumed management control of the project from the Australian Stock Exchange-listed Indophil Resources NL last March 30.
The management takeover came about after Xstrata Copper exercised its option to acquire 62.5 percent of the controlling interest in the Tampakan project, which is pursued by local firm Sagittarius Mines, Inc., last December.
In line with the takeover, Xstrata implemented changes in Sagittarius' top management positions.
The appointments to the board of Sagittarius Mines include Charlie Sartain as chairman of the board and Peter Forrestal as president.
Forrestal replaced Paul G. Dominguez, a former presidential adviser for Mindanao affairs of the national government, who resigned from the post days before Xstrata Copper assumed management control of the project from Indophil.
The new Sagittarius president was here Wednesday and appeared pleased with the support the project is getting from the local government units.
Forrestal has been with Xstrata as executive general manager for project development. He has been involved in the mining industry for more than 30 years and brings extensive international experience in mining and exploration, project evaluation, feasibility studies and project development.
In his first public appearance here, he noted that Xstrata is bullish that it acquired majority control of the Tampakan project.
"Xstrata firmly believes that the Tampakan project can provide unique opportunity to the people within the project site and neighboring areas," Forrestal said.
Caminero, Bermudez and Barroso expressed confidence the new Sagittarius management team "will bring in best practices in managing and eventually operating the Tampakan project."
The trio said they believe that the successful operation of the project will provide vast opportunities for socio-economic development for the people and communities straddling the project site.
While the local government executives support the venture, the local Catholic Church, on the other hand, remains strongly against the project for fear of dislocation of indigenous people and environmental catastrophe.
The Tampakan deposit represents one of the largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits in the South East Asia-western Pacific Region. The pre-feasibility study completed last year indicate resources of two billion tons containing 11.6 million tons of copper and 14.6 million ounces of gold at a 0.3 percent copper cut-off grade.
