FACT CHECK: Tampakan project still not yet into open-pit mining operation; ban still stands

The information that the controversial Tampakan copper-gold project in South Cotabato has commenced commercial production using the open-pit mining method is false.

Engr. Siegfred Flaviano, Provincial Environment Management Office (PEMO) chief, said that Sagittarius Mines, Inc. (SMI), operator of the Tampakan project, has yet to proceed into the actual mining production phase.

“Based on our monitoring, the Tampakan project has not yet started mining operations using the open-pit mining method,” he said.

Flaviano also belied that the mining firm has already dug up a pit.

The open-pit mining ban imposed by the South Cotabato provincial government remains in effect, he noted.

The prohibition on open-pit mining, which was contained in the province’s landmark Environment Code, took effect in 2010.

The ban hampered the bid of SMI to develop the Tampakan project, the largest untapped copper-gold minefield in Southeast Asia and one of the largest of its kind in the world. 

According to a company study, the most viable way to extract the deposits is by open-pit mining due to the shallow location of the resources.

The environmental compliance certificate (ECC) of SMI had been cancelled by the late Environment Secretary Gina Lopez in February 2017, but was restored by the Office of the President in May 2019, Omar Saikol, Environmental Management Bureau – Region 12 chief, said.

The ECC is one of the requirements for the mining project to proceed to commercial production.

Last May, the controversial ban on open-pit mining in South Cotabato was lifted by the previous members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan despite strong opposition from various sectors, including the local Catholic Church, and neighboring local government units. Board member Hilario de Pedro VI authored the proposal to remove the ban. He sought reelection in the May 9, 2022 elections but failed.

The lifting of the open-pit mining ban caused massive outrage not just in the province but also in other parts of Mindanao. https://mindanews.com/top-stories/2022/05/thousands-join-solidarity-walk-vs-lifting-of-open-pit-mining-ban-governor-creates-twg/

But on June 3, South Cotabato Gov. Reynaldo Tamayo, Jr. vetoed the measure lifting the ban on open-pit mining.

In his formal veto message, Tamayo said the amended ordinance is prejudicial to the public welfare and inimical to the overall interest of South Cotabato residents.

“I could not find any compelling reason why the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) would amend a decade-old ordinance that ably and effectively [protected] the people of South Cotabato from the ill-effects of the wanton destruction of our God-given resources by multinational corporations, which will only l eave the province after the extraction of our nat ural wealth,” Tamayo stressed.

Flaviano earlier admitted that the illegal “banlas” or sluice mining method has been monitored within the Tampakan project. 

Banlas is done by pouring a large amount of water onto a mountain surface to loosen rocks containing gold and then panning them using mercury.

As with all our other reports, MindaNews welcomes leads or suggestions from the public to potential fact-check stories. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)

(This fact-check piece was produced with the support of Internews’ Philippine Fact-Checker Incubator Project.)