Sunday, January 20, 2008 Mining firm fails to deter rebel attack By Edwin G. Espejo
SAGITTARIUS Mines Incorporated, despite its reportedly hiring an Australian-based firm to oversee its security operations, still failed to anticipate and prevent a New Year's Day rebel raid that caused at least P10 million damages in property.
A source said SMI hired a former member of the elite British SAS to serve as security consultant of the company after receiving repeated threats of attacks from several armed groups.
On New Year's Day, some 40 members of the communist-led New People's Army raided the base camp of SMI in Barangay Tablu in Tampakan, South Cotabato and burned down its administration and dormitory buildings.
The rebels also disarmed security personnel manning the camp and harassed a
Philippine Army detachment some 500 away from the mining firm compound to prevent reinforcements from soldiers and militiamen.
The NPAs took away two service revolvers and a shotgun from three security personnel on duty during the raid.
No one was hurt in the attack but a former militiaman was reportedly abducted by the rebels in the nearby village of Datal Biao in Columbio, Sultan Kudarat when the armed group retreated.
The former militiaman, a certain Tony Gorgonio, remained missing as of January 10.
SMI corporate affairs supervisor Roy Antonio would neither confirm nor deny the presence of a foreign security consultant.
"SMI cannot discuss any security matters at all," Antonio said in a text message.
But a source said the foreign security agency Genric Holdings Limited that provided the consultant for SMI is reportedly an Australian-based security firm.
Genric Holdings in its website said, it provides security consultancy in at least 32 countries worldwide, the Philippines included.
The company specializes in comprehensive security aspects including: training and advisory services like dealing with activist groups threatening company products, operations and personnel.
A source said the consultant reportedly began overseeing the security of SMI premises and officials last year.
SMI is presently conducting drilling operations and is in the feasibility studies stage of its copper and gold project in Tampakan.
SMI is controlled by Australia-based Xsrata Copper, one of the world's biggest mining firms, following its takeover of the company last year.
Last month, Xstrata released new estimates of the copper and ore deposits in Tampakan which reported could reach as much as 2.2 billion tons.
The upgraded measured, indicated and inferred resource totals 2.2 billion tons at a grade of 0.6 percent copper and 0.2 grams per ton gold and contains 12.8 million tons of copper and 15.2 million ounces of gold using a 0.3 percent copper cut-off grade, the company said in a statement.
