DENR says SC can still save $6-B Cotabato mining project

MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Environment and Natural Resources remains fully behind the $5.9-billion Tampakan copper-gold mine project, the largest foreign investment in the country, even as it admitted that an appeal to reverse its decision rejecting the company’s environmental permit is dim.

This was the message of Environment Secretary Ramon Paje, who stressed that the conflict between the company, which would be using open pit mining, and the province of South Cotabato, which disallows that particular method, would have to be resolved by the court.

The chief of the DENR, which last week rejected Sagittarius Mines Inc. (SMI)’s Environmental Compliance Certificate application for the Tampakan site, said they do not disapprove of open pit mining.

However, the local government of South Cotabato has banned the mining method and SMI rejected DENR’s suggestion to file a declaratory relief before the Supreme Court and persisted on negotiating with local officials, Paje said.

“It’s really a technical issue. Do we still maintain that open pit mining can be used? Yes. We still support Tampakan,” the Secretary said.

“If they get an ECC tomorrow, can they implement it? They cannot,” he added, noting that open pit extraction is the best process for the mine site.

If SMI wants to resolve the dispute with the local government, the best way to do it is to get a relief from the Supreme Court to declare the provincial government’s rule as illegal as it is contrary to national policy, Paje said.

The Tampakan mining investment by SMI, the local subsidiary of global mining firm Xstrata Plc, is potentially the biggest in Southeast Asia at nearly $6 billion. It was supposed to start construction this year, eyeing commercial operation to start in 2016.

SMI said it was “extremely disappointed” with the DENR’s decision.

Sagittarius president Peter Forrestal said:

“We believe this decision sets a precedent that contradicts the publicly stated views of the Aquino administration—namely that national laws which permit open pit mining methods should have precedence over conflicting provincial ordinances.”