Govt to lose $7B in Tampakan, Sagittarius Mines says

The government stands to lose as much as $7.1 billion in taxes should the Tampakan copper and gold project in South Cotabato fail to come on stream by 2015, the company operating the mine said in a study. Sagittarius Mines Inc. said in a financial study that it was committed to allot $6.36 billion in excise taxes and $833.3 million in royalties within the estimated mine life of 19 years. The study was submitted to the Mines and Geosciences Bureau. It also said that the company planned to extend up to $416.8 million in social and economic assistance to the indigenous peoples of South Cotabato. “All these plans will be put to naught unless the new provincial government will agree to review and declare null and void an environmental ordinance that was passed recently," said a Mines Bureau official who refused to be named. Last month, former South Cotabato Governor Daisy Avance-Fuentes signed into law a provincial ordinance that prohibits open pit mining in the province. She then stepped down from her gubernatorial post. Newly installed Governor Arthur Pingoy Jr. said he would look into the issue and possibly ask for a review of the controversial environmental code. “This is a disappointing outcome given the significant stakeholder support shown for the Tampakan Project during the public scoping meetings held late last year, and the recent formal recognition of the Project by the Regional Minerals Development Councils of Regions XI and XII as the Flagship Project for their respective regions," said Mark Williams, general manager of Sagittarius Mines. “That decision to ban open pit mining will have serious implications on the development of the mining sector. We have painstakingly restored investor confidence in recent years only to be driven to square one again because of the new provincial law," said Redempta Baluda, vice president for exploration of Philex Mining Corp. The clause prohibiting open pit mining is vague in the sense that the provincial government failed to be more specific. “Do they mean to likewise ban quarrying in the province. Quarrying is a form of open mining like quarrying for limestone and gravel," she said. Sagittarius Mines already spent $72 million for a feasibility on the $5.2-billion Tampakan project. —VS, GMANews.TV