Sagittarius Mines lays off personnel

AFP FILE PHOTO

DIGOS CITY, Davao del Sur—Sagittarius Mines Inc. on Tuesday announced it was downsizing its workforce at the $5.1-billion Tampakan gold and copper project and was reducing exploration and other activities as it continues to face “challenges.”

Justin Hillier, SMI executive vice president, said the company saw no immediate solution to its woes, brought about mainly by its failure to obtain a go signal for its operation from the South Cotabato government, which has banned open-pit mining in the province.

But he clarified that SMI was not backing out of the project and said the company was hopeful about continuing its mining project in the future through the help of the national government.