Article Title: How May the Tampakan Copper Project Leave a Smaller Mining Footprint?

Author: Ramon L. Clarete

An Evaluative Essay

Submitted by: Keith Russel Sarbida

The Philippines, according to the Department of Trade and Industry and the Board of
Investments, has vast mineral resources, including large reserves of metallic and non-metallic
minerals such as gold, nickel, iron, copper, limestone, and marble. Copper has the largest
reserve among the metallic minerals, estimated at 4 billion metric tons (MT), making the
Philippines the world's fourth largest copper producer. The Philippine Mining Act of 1995
establishes guidelines for the responsible exploration, development, utilization, and
conservation of the country's mineral resources on public and private lands within the country's
territory and exclusive economic zone. These goals are being pursued through a partnership
between the government and the private sector in order to boost national growth while
protecting the environment and the rights of affected communities. The recent history of mineral
development indicates that there will be opposition to mining if host communities are left outside
of project planning. Companies have therefore found it necessary to consider the welfare of
local communities and have begun to seek means of providing local development (Smith, 2006).
This search for new ways to operate in the interests of both companies and local communities in
order to leave a smaller mining footprint is the essence of this blog content by Ramon L.
Clarete.

The Tampakan Copper-Gold Mine, if completed, would be the Philippines' largest open-
pit mine and one of the world's largest. The project has been in the works since the early 1990s,
but it is still in the exploratory stage. Sagittarius Mines Inc. (SMI), the project proponent,
estimates that operations will begin in 2019 ( Hamm et al., 2013). The proposed Tampakan
copper and gold mine is located on Mindanao, a Philippine Island in the south. Until August
2015, Glencore (Xstrata) was the project's main driver. Sagittarius Mining International (SMI),
one of the company's local subsidiaries, has invested $350 million in the $5.9 billion Tampakan
project, which it describes as one of the world's largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits.
According to SMI, the Tampakan project area has 15 million tons of copper and nearly 18
million ounces of gold. Over the course of its 20-year mining life, the copper and gold mine
project is expected to generate $7.2 billion in tax and royalty revenue for the government,
according to the company (Hassink, 2015). The project's exploration phase is complete, but
construction of the open-pit mine's infrastructure has been halted due to an open-pit ban
imposed by the district government. It is currently impossible to predict when the actual mining
phase will begin in the year 2013 (Hostettle, 2015).

The Tampakan case exemplifies a number of issues that are directly or indirectly related
to mining. Apart from the conflicts that Clarete mentions within communities and with the
military, people suffer from environmental destruction that occurs even before the mining
operation begins. The company's exploration and preparation activities endanger indigenous
peoples' livelihoods as well as their cultural heritage. SMI bulldozers reportedly destroyed B'laan
communities' fields and traditional burial grounds to make way for road construction and drilling
operations (Pelio & Maderazo, 2012). According to Yahoo! News (2013), even stakeholders
disagreed on whether SMI $5.9 billion Tampakan copper-gold mine in South Cotabato would be
beneficial or detrimental to the surrounding communities and the country. The project, which is
being billed as the country's single largest foreign direct investment, received environmental
approval from the Department of the Environment. The Tamapakan mine, on the other hand, is
a disaster waiting to happen, according to Gerry Arances, national coordinator of the Philippine
Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ). "Mining has no place in the Philippines' most vulnerable
areas," he said. SMI can now move forward with the rest of the regulatory requirements for
operating the Tampakan copper-gold mine. SMI had pushed back the mine construction
schedule by two years to 2015, with production starting in 2019.

During a visit to Malacaang in 2011, SMI presented President Aquino with the economic
and government benefits of the Tampakan copper-gold project. In his article, Clarete also
mentioned the advantages of Tampakan Mining. And, true to their word, the mine has set aside
millions of funds for education, health, agriculture, and livelihood projects that have benefited
the people of Tampakan and the surrounding towns. It is said that the Tampakan Copper-Gold
Deposit is one of the world's largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits, with the potential to
contribute significantly to the Philippines' economic prosperity and provide a brighter future for
the people of southern Mindanao if developed (Dizon, 2021).

However, despite the benefits presented by the SMI, a court in the Philippines has
upheld a ban on open-pit mining in the province of South Cotabato, which is home to Southeast
Asia's largest known untapped copper and gold deposits. The decision is the latest setback for
SMI the mining permit holder, following the municipality where the deposits are located
canceling its development permit in August. In January 2019, supporters of SMI filed a petition
seeking an injunction against the mining ban, which has been in place since 2010. The court,
however, ruled that the ban is in accordance with current laws and regulations, including the
Philippine Constitution, in a decision praised by environmental, religious, and Indigenous rights
advocates (Sarmiento, 2020).

Lastly, Clarete mentioned abandoned mines in his article. However, this is not the case
for the Tampakan mining project because the national ban on open-pit mining was lifted in
2021, which is said to have opened the door for the project's revival. South Cotabato Governor
Reynaldo Tamayo Jr. said that the proposed mining project will be re-evaluated, while
reiterating the local government's position that the province will only allow "responsible mining"
operations. He confirmed that he met with officials from the DENR to discuss the status of the
mining project, led by Undersecretary Jim Sampulna. Officials from SMI announced at the
recent meeting that the controversial mining method would no longer be pursued (Estabillo,
2021). As a result, it still remains to be seen whether the Tampakan copper project will be able
to reduce its mining footprint this time.
 RESOURCES

Copper. Securing The Future of Philippine Industries. (n.d.). Retrieved March 17, 2022, from
https://industry.gov.ph/industry/copper/

Dizon, C. (2021, September 15). Tampakan mining to benefit more than 20,000 farmers.
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Estabillo, A. (2021, July 5). SOCOT execs to reassess Tampakan Copper-gold project.
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Garcia, G., Romero, S. J. E., & Makalintal, J. (2021, August 27). Duterte says yes to mining in
the Philippines. but at what cost? Heinrich Böll Foundation: Southeast Asia Regional
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Hamm, B., Schax, A., & Scheper, C. (2013). Human Rights Impact Assessment of the
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Hegina, A. J. (2016, January 20). Aquino: Gov't to continue working with mining companies.
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Hostettler, D. (2015). Mining in indigenous regions: the case of Tampakan,

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