RESOURCES COMMENTARY
PHILIPPINE RESOURCES THE MAGAZINE FOR MINING AND CONSTRUCTION Philippine Resources is published independently for executives in Philippine mining, construction, resources and associated business sectors. Publisher Elizabeth Galura Consulting Publisher Greg Brimble Editor Jimbo Owen Gulle Sales and Marketing Manager Matt Brimble +63 927 721 6622 Matthew@philippine-resources.com Account Manager Merian Jay Fallan +63 955 738 0266 merian@philippine-resources.com Administration Cecilia Pamular +63 917 308 1971 cecille@philippine-resources.com Design/Production Elizabeth Galura Journalists Marcelle P. Villegas Abe Almirol Contributors Patricia A.O. Bunye Fernando Penarroyo Manila Publishing Office Suite 6, 2nd Floor Corinthian Plaza Building 121 Paseo de Roxas Legaspi Village Makati City, Philippines 1226 Phone +632 8251 5599 Digital Online Edition www.Philippine-Resources.com ON THE COVER: Photo courtesy Chief Asia
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My Tampakan experience
P
resident Rodrigo R. Duterte issued an order last year that lifted the ban on open-pit mining im-posed in 2017. The lifting of the ban would have allowed the $5.9 billion Tampakan copper-gold mine project to proceed, the largest untapped copper-gold deposit in Southeast Asia and one of the world’s biggest. Sagittarius Mines, Inc. holds the Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement (“FTAA”) to operate at the site, which reportedly has a potential of 15 million tons of copper and 17.6 million ounces of gold. The Tampakan copper-gold project was again recently placed in the limelight when Governor Tamayo of South Cotabato vetoed a provincial board resolution lifting the ban on open-pit mining in the province. The governor said he vetoed the lifting of the ban on open-pit mining for being prejudicial to the public welfare and inimical to the overall interest of the province. To add to the confusion, the governor stressed that this, however, did not affect the operation of the stalled Tampakan copper-gold project stating that the ordinance was limited to the scope of the local government’s authority and covered small-scale mining. The ordinance, according to the governor, has nothing to do with whatever the national government decides on large-scale mining. However, Tamayo appealed to the provincial board not to override the veto and allow the incoming Sanggunian to conduct its review of the province’s Ordinance No. 4 Series of 2010 otherwise known as the “South Cotabato Environment Code”. Tamayo’s move was met with jubilation by environmental, religious, and other groups opposed to the Tampakan project. These developments brought back memories of my time as a lawyer for the project operated by the original FTAA holder. Entry of Western Mining Corporation Western Mining Corporation (“WMC”) arrived in 1987 and during the next ten years evaluated many exploration sites. In 1990, Gerry Palermo, a Davao-based businessman who headed a group of mining claims held by members of the Visayan community in South Cotabato, introduced the prospect to WMC. In a contract denominated as the “Tampakan Option Agreement” dated 25 April 1991, WMC Resources International Pty. Ltd. (WMC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Western Mining Corporation Holdings Limited, a publicly listed major Australian mining and exploration company, through its local subsidiary Western Mining Corporation (Philippines), Inc. (“WMCP”) acquired the mining claims of Southcot Mining Corporation, Tampakan Mining Corporation, and Sagittarius Mines, Inc.
By Fernando Penarroyo Geophysical and geochemical surveys were completed in 1992 and the results identified a target for exploration drilling in 1993. The Philippine government awarded WMCP an FTAA on 30 March 1995, a month before the Mining Act of 1995 went into effect on April 30 and before the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (“IPRA”) was passed into law in 1997. The original FTAA covered 99,3876 hectares in the quad-boundary of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Davao del Sur and North Cotabato. In early 1998, WMCP announced a large-tonnage, lowgrade mineral resource of 900 million tons at 0.75 percent copper and 0.30 gram per ton gold using a copper cut-off grade of .50 percent. In 1997, the La Bugal-B’laan Tribal Association of Columbio, Sultan Kudarat challenged the constitutionality of the Mining Act, asserting that its provisions regarding 100% foreign ownership of companies engaged in mining as well as other provisions of the said law went against the 1987 Philippine Constitution. On 27 January 2004, the Supreme Court (“SC”) declared the Mining Act unconstitutional, thereby voiding the FTAA issued to WMCP. However, the SC overturned its own decision in December of the same year. Principal Agreements with Stakeholders In accordance with the terms of its FTAA, WMCP sought agreements with the three provinces - South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, and Davao del Sur - and their respective municipalities - Tampakan, Columbio, and Kiblawan, as well as five Barangay Councils - Pula Bato, Danlag and Tablu in Tampakan, Datal Blao in Columbio, and Kimlawis in Kiblawan. The five barangays are also home to B’laan communities which occupy the more remote upland
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ISSUE 2 2022 • WWW.PHILIPPINE-RESOURCES.COM
