Firm seen pulling out of Tampakan

Swiss mining giant Glencore Xstrata is expected to pull out of a $5.9-billion gold-copper mining project in the Philippines, its Australian partner Indophil said.

Melbourne-based Indophil Resources NL said in a quarterly report released this week that “Glencore Xstrata has advised Indophil of its preference to pursue divestment of its interest in Tampakan.”

“All indications point to Glencore Xstrata seeking to divest its majority interest in the Tampakan Copper-Gold Project,” the report added.

It said  a possible divestment of the Tampakan project in North Cotabato had been under consideration since April 2013.

Glencore Xstrata also announced in September that it was no longer focusing on “greenfield” mines started from scratch—such as the Tampakan site—preferring to work on existing mines instead.

The Indophil report conceded that the Tampakan project had run into problems, chiefly the provincial government’s ban on open-pit mining that delayed the start of development.

The mine would be the Philippines’ largest ever foreign investment but it has faced opposition from church, community and environmental groups and would require numerous other government and community permits to be obtained.

In August 2013, Glencore Xstrata said it was laying off nearly all workers at the Tampakan project amid continued delays.

The provincial government of North Cotabato has passed an ordinance banning open-pit mining, directly blocking the development of the Tampakan mines, said to have one of the largest gold deposits in Asia.

The Indophil statement did not say how the divestment would be carried out.

But it stressed that “with Indophil holding a strategic preemptive right over Glencore Xstrata’s interest, Indophil has a considerable ‘say’ in any Tampakan divestment process.”

“We will work with Glencore Xstrata to assist in meeting objectives for the project,” the report added. AFP