Philippine town cancels Tampakan copper-gold project permit

Citing concerns for lives of hundreds of indigenous people, a local government in the Philippines has cancelled permit issued to Sagittarius Mines for the $5.9 billion Tampakan copper-gold project. The asset, which has estimated resources of 15 million tonnes of copper and 17.6 million ounces of gold, was one of at least 12 metallic mines expected to begin commercial operations this year.
Tampakan, Philippines’s biggest untapped copper-gold reserve, was stalled for over a decade following a 2010 ban on mining, which was extended to open-pit operations in 2017.
While former President Rodrigo Duterte lifted the nationwide ban late last year to revitalize the mining industry, Mayor Leonard Escobillo of Tampakan town said the permit had been now revoked from Sagittarius Mines due the company’s fraud, erroneous classification and misrepresentation of its business status.
Tampakan was expected to have an average annual production capacity of 375,000 tonnes of copper and 360,000 ounces of gold in concentrate.
Most of the mines awaiting permits are nickel projects, one of the metals in highest demand these days due to its use electric vehicles batteries and other devices that can help the world transition to cleaner technologies.

Aruna Gaitonde, Editor in Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough&Polished