Lifting of open pit mining ban seen by December

The South Cotabato provincial government’s ordinance banning open-pit mining in the province may be lifted by year’s end, as talks between the local government and Sagittarius Mines Inc. (SMI) start to show positive developments.

In an interview on Friday, Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo said that provincial government and SMI officials met a month ago to discuss the concerns of the province with regard to the proposed $5.9-billion Tampakan Copper Gold Project.

These concerns, he explained, centered on watershed protection and water conservation, which SMI promised to address.

Dialogues continue to take place between the parties concerned.

“This is still in the process of review. I think we’ll see the ban lifted within the year, subject to certain conditions,” Robredo told reporters on the sidelines of yesterday’s Metro Manila Business Conference.

For the ban to finally lifted, he said the province’s environmental concerns would have to be addressed.

On the part of the national government, support was all-out for mining projects, but only the “responsible” kind.

The proposed Tampakan project is covered by a financial and technical assistance agreement forged between SMI and the national government, through the Mining and Geosciences Bureau.

SMI data show that the Tampakan project area has the potential to produce 13.5 million tons of copper and 15.8 million ounces of gold.

The Tampakan project would not be able to proceed, however, if South Cotabato’s ban on open-pit mining stays in place.

The South Cotabato ordinance ran counter to the Philippine Mining Act, which encouraged mining activities but under stringent environmental and social standards. The government had identified mining as one of the country’s key growth engines.

Apart from South Cotabato, the local governments of Capiz, Bohol, Samar, Mindoro, Romblon and Zamboanga del Norte have put in place similar ordinances banning open-pit mining.