South Cotabato Gov wants to keep ban on open-pit mining

South Cotabato Gov. Reynaldo Tamayo, Jr. has proposed to keep the provincial government’s ban on open-pit mining, which has blocked a $5.9 billion copper-gold mining project in the province.

Based on a report by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Tamayo endorsed a resolution of the Provincial Development Council (PDC), which favors retaining the ban. The Sangguniang Panlalawigan or provincial board is currently hearing petitions to have the controversial policy lifted.

Tamayo chairs the PDC, which is also composed of mayors, congressmen, and non-government organization representatives based in the province.

First imposed in 2010, the province’s open-pit mining ban blocks the operation of the Tampakan mining tenement covering around 10,000 hectares across not only South Cotabato, but also Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, and Davao del Sur. Majority of the mining extraction activities are in South Cotabato.

Calls for the lifting of the policy were made by the provincial legislature after a local court’s decision on the legality of the environment code provisions.

The Tampakan mining project is a 25-year old contract granted to Australian firm Western Mining Corporation in 1995. The rights were transferred to Sagittarius Mines, Inc., a subsidiary of Indophil Resources Phils. Inc., in 2001. The contract expired on March 21, 2020, but was extended by another 12 years in 2016.

The project has the potential to yield around 375,000 tons of copper and 360,000 ounces of gold in concentrate per annum in its 17-year mine life.

Multisectoral governance bodies like Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) welcomed Tamayo’s endorsement to the provincial board. ATM chair Rene Pamplona said that the move represents the sentiments of the stakeholders in the province.

Last month, Department of Environment and Natural Resources officer-in-charge Jim Sampulna went to the province to attend a multi-sectoral consultation by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan on the matter. Sampulna said the agency would respect whatever the provincial government’s decision would be.