International and local experts lambast SMI consultants

Press ReleaseSeptember 26, 2011

International and local experts lambast SMI consultants
Say Tampakan mining project has high potential for loss of life and environmental damage

Koronadal City—International and local experts critiqued the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) of the Tampakan Mine Project in a public forum held at the South Cotabato gymnasium and Cultural Center, last September 23.

Fr. Joy Peliño, director of the Social Action Center of the Marbel Diocese said, “The Office of the Governor and the Social Action Center of Marbel co-organized this activity to bring together the SMI/Xstrata consultants and experts from the anti-mining groups to present to the people how the Tampakan mining project will actually impact the people and environment.”

Clive Wicks and Dr. Robert Goodland, environmental consultants and members of the London based Working Group on Mining in the Philippines (WGMP-UK) read and analyzed the draft Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) of Sagittarius Mines Inc/Xstrata and found that the 3,000-pages document fails to disclose the most severe impacts of the mining project in an area of high seismic activity and is badly flawed in recognition of the risks the mine poses.

A shorter version of the ESIA is the EIS, which was equally criticized. The document is a requirement by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB)— before SMI/Xstrata can receive the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) necessary to start mine development.

After two and a half hours of presentation by the SMI/Xstrata consultants, Clive Wicks and Filipino experts, Atty. Ipat Luna and Kail Zingapan, presented their evaluation and discussed the real risks of the project that seemed to be covered up in the massive EIS and ESIA documents.

Wicks pointed out that SMI own consultants admitted in their Waste Management Appendix (page 42), ”There is a high potential for loss of life and severe environmental damage if the tailings dam or rock storage facility collapse”. He went on to say that in the view of himself and Dr. Robert Goodland there was a strong chance that the facilities would collapse just as 16 tailings dams have collapsed in the Philippines in recent years. Many more tailings dams have collapsed on the Island of New Guinea.

Wicks asked the SMI mining experts a pointed question. “You know that the mine area is on top of stratovolcanoes and fault lines, some of which cross each other, and is located in an area of high seismic activity, and you will build large dams and a rock storage facility for 1.6 billion tons of toxic rock that are highly susceptible to breakage and disasters. In that event, how many people will die?” This is a question he has asked in his assessment of other plans in different countries. SMI/Xstrata consultants did not answer the query and Wicks insisted that they must provide the answer.

Wicks also pointed out that SMI/Xstrata are expecting the people of the three provinces to take the risk forever in perpetuity, while the company only carries the risk for about 20 years. The company does not even recognize many of them as stakeholders. Every person who uses water from the Tampakan Mountain is a stakeholder

and has a human right to clean water. One of the biggest risks is to the vital shallow aquifers under Koronadal Valley and many other areas. If they are polluted by acid mine drainage they can never be cleaned up.

The Tampakan mine development covers an area of approximately 10, 000 hectares. The development will cut down almost 4,000-hectares of forests including old growth forests. It will affect the water source of communities on 6 rivers with arsenic and acid mine drainage. The Mal river will be the worst affected as many streams in its catchment will be destroyed and replaced by the tailings dam. That will impact the Mal River, the region’s biggest river system and damage agriculture in Davao del Sur.

Kail Zingapan of Philippine Association for Intercultural Development (PAFID), who worked with local indigenous communities to produce an impressive 3-D map of the Koronadal Valley and the Tampakan watersheds, explained what the mining project would mean for the affected communities.

“This is the People’s Map, we did not invent this. The people pointed out to us where their lands are located and we plotted them in the map. We showed them the outcome and they saw that the mine development area covers their ancestral lands and it seems not all of them were consulted or correctly informed of the risks by SMI,” she said.

People were shocked as Zingapan placed the supposed mine tailings dam area on top of the hill, and the fresh water dam right where Mal River is located. “This is your land, where you live and get your food and needs for everyday. It is up to you now if you want to see this land devastated and taken away from you or not,” she said in Bisaya.

Environmental lawyer Ipat Luna, on the other hand, explained her legal evaluation of the EIS, “The EIS inadequately sets out the direct losses to be caused by the project and has gaps in terms of other legal permits and compliance.

She further added, “The Stakeholders’ Development Framework fails to appreciate the unique cultural identity of the B’laan and merely enumerates standard social development interventions.”

After the presentation of SMI’s EIA and critique, Bishop Dinualdo Gutierrez of the Diocese of Marbel said, “No mining project will ever be good for us. Let us continue to support the South Cotabato Environmental Code that bans open pit mining.” Bishop Gutierrez reiterated there is no need for the Sangguniang Panlalawigan to review the said code.

Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) national coordinator Jaybee Garganera said, “Unlike SMI/Xstrata who are here to get the approval of the people to mine their lands, the experts and non governmental organizations are here because the communities requested our help. We are here also because we believe that the claimed benefits of this mining project are clearly outweighed by the impacts it will bring to water, agriculture, forests, biodiversity and communities.”
Towards the end, SMI/Xstrata consultants found it hard to convince the people that their project will not impact negatively on many lives.

When asked, “What if the directly-affected people do not want to leave their lands,” a SMI/Xstrata spokesperson answered, “If you the people do not want leave and re-settle, then we do not have a project to talk about.” SMI’s problem is that all the people who depend on the upland area for water will have to give their approval, not just the 7 Barangays on the top of the mountain.

After two hours of Open Forum, Gov. Arthur Pingoy Jr concluded and assured the people, “As the governor of this province, I will implement the (Provincial Environmental Code) Ordinance. There will be no open-pit mining in the province unless there is an order from the Courts. I am duty bound to implement the Ordinance.”

He added that the forum was primarily organized to allow the Sangguniang Panalalawigan to arrive at an informed decision in reviewing the provision in the provincial Environment Code banning open pit mining.

More than 6,000 people went to listen and ask questions at the forum. Most of them were able to go inside, while some people stayed outside due to lack of space, where a big screen displayed the happenings inside.

Wicks and Goodland were authors of the book “Philippines: Mining or Food?,” published in 2009, a book that documented how the agriculture industry and communities are affected by mining activities in the country.

Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) is an alliance of mining-affected communities and their support groups of NGOs/POs and other civil society organizations who are opposing the aggressive promotion of large-scale mining in the Philippines. (30)

For more information:
Dr. Robert Goodland, LWGMP, Fr. Frank Nally, LWGMP, Clive Wicks, LWGMP, Kail Zingapan, PAFID Atty. Ipat Luna, Fr. Joy Peliño, SAC-Marbel Director, Jaybee Garganera, ATM National Coordinator, (0927) 761.76.02 Farah Sevilla, ATM Policy & Advocacy Officer, (0915) 331.33.61

Supposed benefits from Mindanao mining project questioned

Environmental activists have questioned claims that the $5.2-billion Tampakan Copper-Gold Project by Sagittarius Mines, Inc. (SMI) in South Cotabato would yield huge benefits for the national economy and for local communities around the mining area.

“Hindi kami naniniwala sa sinasabi ng SMI at ng national government na malaki ang maitutulong ng proyekto sa ekonomiya ng bansa kung pagbabatayan ang mga epekto ng mina sa komunidad," Rene Pamplona, representative of the Diocese of Marbel in South Cotabato (SAC-Marbel) said.

Pamplona, along with indigenous community leaders, made the statement on the occasion of the Mining Philippines 2011 and Exhibition in Pasay City, held from September 13 to 15.

Contrary to SMI's claims, the project will not improve lives and give sustainable benefits to communities there, Pamplona said.

The project, which involves one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits, is hounded by environmental issues, considering that it covers 31,599.64 hectares within the boundaries of Sultan Kudarat, South Cotabato, Sarangani and Davao del Sur provinces.

Project operator SMI has been insisting that the venture is a win-win deal for both residents and companies in the area.

The Tampakan project, a joint venture of SMI, Xstrata Copper (62.5 percent), Indophil Resources NL (34.2 percent), and Alsons Corp. (3.3 percent), is still in its development stage. Actual mining operations are expected to start by 2016.

Environmental activists and indigenous peoples groups are opposed to the project due to the potential environmental destruction it might bring.

Judy Pasimio, executive director of Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center – Kasama sa Kalikasan (LRC-KsK/FOEI) said that “While SMI is bragging they will pour in more than $5 billion of investments, the project will actually pollute approximately seven billion liters of fresh water during operations."

The water resource from the area, according the Pasimio, is being used by communities – both upland and lowland – in three provinces for domestic and agricultural use, including the approximately 5,000 thousand farmers in South Cotabato.

Studies on the SMI draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the mining project showed that the mining project will result in extensive physical disturbance of forest lands, including old growth forests; threaten water resources of four provinces, and further bring about tribal conflicts.

Alyansa Tigil Mina national coordinator Jaybee Garganera said “As with many other mining projects in the Philippines, we believe the Tampakan project, if pursued, will only add to the list of mining tragedies that in the end will neither help the communities nor the national economy."
Moreover, he said the project will intensify human rights violations and conflicts and further aggravate the situation of our indigenous brothers and sisters in the mountains.

On the other hand, Pamplona said “Hinihiling namin na magbuo si Pangulong Aquino ng isang special body na mag-iimbistiga sa kasalukuyang kalagayan ng mine development area, pati na rin ang mga posibleng impact ng mining operations sa iba’t ibang stakeholders na hindi lang batay sa kung ano ang isusumite ng SMI na Environmental Impact Statement at sigurado na makikita niyang dapat ikansela ang FTAA ng Xstrata SMI."

Proponents of the Tampakan mining project are supposedly trying to convince the Office of the President and the Department of Interior and Local Government to suspend the provision of the South Cotabato Provincial Environmental Code that bans open-pit mining in South Cotabato.

For its part, the SMI expressed optimism the mining ban review will push through.

At the Pasay City conference, SMI general manager Mark Williams said public consultations on the project are under way.

“SMI commenced our public consultation meetings in the towns of Tampakan in South Cotabato, Kiblawan in Davao del Sur, and Malungon in Sarangani earlier this month with a similar meeting being held in Columbio, Sultan Kudarat," Williams said.

“These consultation meetings provide our stakeholders with an opportunity to hear a balanced report of our draft Mine EIS and allow them to provide feedback to SMI staff and ask questions to our technical specialist," he added. — Jerbert Briola/LBG, GMA News

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/232692/business/supposed-benefits-from-mindanao-mining-project-questioned

MAP-Oz Slams Baguio Mines Safety Confab

Mining Action Philippines-Australia (MAP-Oz) composed of various Filipino and Australian groups and organisatons, with aims of monitoring, assessing, evaluating and exposing various environmental and human and indigenous peoples rights issues of Australian mining companies in the Philippines criticized the Philippine Mine Safety and Environment Association (PMSEA) which invited Australian mining investors to an annual mines safety conference which ends today.

While the people of the Philippines suffered a series of typhoons and mining disasters, PMSEA is still promoting responsible mining for a strong republic, the Philippines, which recently enacted the Climate Change Law.

The Australian government recently granted the Philippines Php 123 million aid which seeks to mainstream disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation in local land use plans and processes. The hypocrisy in this type of financial aid, while promoting Australian mining investment is obscene. Not only does mining contribute a significant amount of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, mining also produces toxic waste which prove a deadly risk in the face of extreme weather conditions and climate change. The influx of carbon intensive, waste producing mining ventures, will defeat the very purpose of the aid.’ said Mia Pepper of Friends of the Earth Melbourne, the coordinator of MAP-Oz.

‘We find it ironic if not hypocritical of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and DENR Secretary Joselito Atienza to be calling themselves climate change czars before the Filipino people that they are on top of a low-carbon economy when clearly this confab supports a highly extractive industry that will add more GHGs in the atmosphere and worst, further put vulnerable communities especially the indigenous groups who are directly affected by mining operations and who are incapable of adapting to the impacts climate change in grave danger, ” exclaimed Jaybee Garganera, National Coordinator of Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM), the Philippine convener of MAP-Oz.

The Philippines ranks the world’s fourth most disaster-prone country based on the 2004 Global Climate Risk Index. This innate vulnerability – geographic, climatic and physical characteristics is compounded by intertwined problems of poor governance reflective of high poverty incidence, expanding population, political strifes, growing environmental degradation and natural resource depletion brought by the aggressive promotion of extractive industries such as mining in the country.

Didipio Case on Channel Seven Australia

GROUPS CONDEMN ILLEGAL DEMOLITION AND VIOLENT DISPERSAL OF MINING AFFECTED COMMUNITIES

KASIBU, Nueva Vizcaya (NV)– Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM), an advocacy group and a people’s movement composed of more than eighty (80) organizations from mining-affected communities and civil society organizations nationwide, condemns the illegal demolition and violent dispersal of the residents from communities, which hosts an Australian mining company owned by OceanaGold Corp. Inc. (OGPI). The incident happened last October 2 Barangay Didipio, where OGPI’s Financial or Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA) covers 23 barangays in Kasibu.

Reports from human rights workers of ATM partner organizations, Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP) and the Philippine Human Rights Information Center (PhilRights), narrated that there were allegedly approximately 100 heavily armed men, who arrived at Sitio Dinauyan at around 8:00AM, to carry out a demolition order for the house of Elmer Lawagan located at the foot of Dinkidi Hill, the open pit mining site of OGPI.

The demolition crew was believed to be a composite team of police operatives from the regional, provincial, and municipal government of NV. The crew was faced with the resistance from more than 100 residents from Didipio who formed a human barricade to oppose the demolition. The residents believe that if OGPI succeeds in demolishing Lawagan’s house, their homes would be next. Some residents who joined the barricade were from the villages living in or adjacent to Dinkidi Hill in Sitio Dinauyan, which is home to at least 100 families, where the proposed site for the mine tailings dam is located.

Violence broke out between the two groups when the Philippine National Police (PNP) troops tried to forcefully break the people’s barricade using teargas, truncheons and shields, while residents defended themselves with the use of water mixed with chili pepper splashed to the agressors. Kasibu Mayor Romeo Tayaban and Didipio Barangay Captain Malou Nablol were both present to negotiate with the PNP. Witnesses said that apart from the beating experienced by some residents, 5 teargases were thrown to the barricaders. Casualties from the teargas include at least 7 barricaders. Some of the harmed still experience headaches and other discomfort from the teargas after the incident. The demolition crew was forced to pull back and leave the area when the 3-day Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) issued by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) upon the request of Lawagan’s counsel was communicated past 11:00AM of the same day.

“We condemn the harm experienced by the people of Didipio in the arms of those who were supposedly mandated to protect them, said ATM Coordinator Jaybee Garganera. There were irregularities in the execution of the demolition order. To enumerate some: the unnecessary use of violence by throwing teargas, truncheons and shield to disperse the barricade; and policemen carrying firearms in the dispersal of the protesting residents, which is against the normal procedures in executing a demolition order. Two criminology students from St. Marys University Bayombong were allegedly part of the police contingent that were the ones who lobbed the teargas.” added Garganera.

To date, the RTC issued an order granting the extension of the TRO for 20 days and setting a hearing on October 19, 2009 at 10:30AM to determine whether or not a writ of preliminary injunction will be issued. Despite the favorable TRO issued, residents and their support groups vowed to remain diligent in protecting the rights of residents against any illegal and violent action by OGPI.

PhilRights Executive Director Nymia Pimentel-Simbulan said, ““We trust that Chairperson Leila de Lima of the Commission on Human Rights will look into this urgent matter. We request the CHR to immediately send a team of investigators to Barangay Didipio to verify these alleged incidents of human rights violations and abuses to facilitate redress for victims, especially Elmer Lawagan, and to hold the perpetrators liable for their actions. CHR's timely and decisive intervention is vital to ensure that due process and respect for human rights would prevail in the court decision and course of action subsequently undertaken."

OGPI’s Didipio Gold and Copper Project was granted with an FTAA since 1998 and is expected to produce an average 120,000 ounces of gold and 15,000 tonnes of copper for 15 years. After a decade of its presence in the Didipio, no mine production was made by the company. Furthermore, OGPI has placed its operation under “care and maintenance” in December 2008 due to financial and management problems of the company.

According to Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC) Executive Director Judy Pasimio, co-convenor of ATM, this implies that OGPI has lost its legal eligibility to carry out its obligations under the FTAA with government. In fact, DENR itself has declared to take over OGPI facility in January 2009 in the event that the company cannot operate within six (6) months.

“For this year alone, OGPI has already displaced more than a hundred indigenous families in Didipio. Furthermore, the companys aggressive fencing, which include closing of accustomed public way and the installation of check points covered by their FTAA have restricted what used to be free movement of the residents in the area. Now, communities feel that they are deprived of their rights to their own land and majority of the residents already lost their faith and trust in OGPI. LRC submitted a demand letter dated September 23, 2009 to the DENR to act upon and take necessary steps to finally carry out the CLOSURE of the Didipio mining tenement of OGPI,” concluded Pasimio.

Update - Statement regarding Berong Nickel Operations Update

20 August 2009

Operational Update - Berong Nickel

Toledo Mining Corporation plc ("Toledo" or the "Company") (AIM:TMC) advises that a third shipment of ore was shipped to BHP Billiton's ("BHP") Yabulu refinery from the Berong mine on Palawan island, Philippines, on 11 August 2009. The shipment contained 48,108 tonnes of ore at 1.5% nickel (approximately 481 tonnes contained nickel on a dry basis) and 30% iron.

Due to severe bad weather caused by tropical storms, the transhipment of ore from barge to the ship moored offshore was severely delayed. BHP has lodged a claim for demurrage, the amount of which is being contested by Berong Nickel Corporation ("Berong") which declared force majeure during the ship loading. Even taking account of BHP's claim, the shipment is cash positive to Berong.

Berong has now completed the shipment of stockpile material which meets the BHP specification. Approximately 150,000 wet metric tonnes of ore remain on the stockpile at Berong for which Toledo continues to seek customers.

The contract between Berong and BHP calls for a minimum shipment of 300,000 wet metric tonnes per annum to the Yabulu refinery of Queensland Nickel. So far this year, only approximately half of this contracted amount has been taken

It was reported in July that BHP has reached agreement in principle to sell the Yabulu refinery to Professor Clive Palmer. The consequences of this development for the timing of future shipments from Berong to Yabulu are under discussion.

Ends.

Reg Eccles, Chairman, Toledo Mining Corporation 44 (0) 20 7514 1480 plc Richard Greenfield, Ambrian Partners Limited 44 (0) 20 7634 4700 Alex Buck, BuckBias Limited 44 (0) 7932 740 452

END OF MESSAGE

This announcement was originally distributed by Hugin. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Soccsksargen grows slower in ’08, down 4.6% from 2007’s 6.7%

Written by Jerry Adlaw / Correspondent
Thursday, 30 July 2009 22:51, Business Mirror

http://businessmirror.com.ph/home/regions/13937-soccsksargen-grows-slower-in-08-down-46-from-2007s-67.html

Drilling machine of SMI in the mountains of Tampakan, South Cotabato.

THE economy of Soccsksargen (South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, General Santos) region grew at a slower pace by registering a 4.6-percent growth in 2008 from its robust performance of 6.7 percent in 2007. The deceleration was caused by slowdown in all three of its major sectors.

The agriculture, forestry and fisheries (AFF), the biggest contributor to the regional economy which accounted for 42.9 percent of the region’s total output, decelerated to 6.7 percent from a remarkable growth of 7.8 percent recorded in 2007.

The favorable performances turned in by fishery and livestock were not able to cushion the lower growths posted by corn, coconut, banana, pineapple, rubber and other crops, as well as poultry.

Sugarcane production posted a remarkable growth, attributed to the higher demand for muscovado sugar in the local and international markets.

Sugarcane is also being eyed as an alternative source of biofuels. The industry sector, which accounted for about 31 percent of the region’s total economic output, posted a sluggish performance as it slowed down from a 6.9-percent growth in 2007 to a modest 3.5-percent growth in 2008. All industry subsectors experienced a slowdown.

Manufacturing, which accounted for the biggest share of the total industry output, dropped from 5.4 percent to 3.4 percent, mining and quarrying from 9.1 percent to 3.9 percent, and construction from 18.1 percent to 5.8 percent.

Electricity and water contracted to negative 1.5 percent in 2008 from a 4.1-percent growth in 2007 due to reduced power generation of the Mt. Apo geothermal plants located in Cotabato province.

Services, which comprised 26.1 percent of the region’s economy, slipped down to 2.7 percent in 2008 from 4.7 percent in 2007 as all subsector outputs declined except for ownership of dwellings and real estate (ODRE). Government services grew by only 0.6 percent in 2008 from 5.7 percent in 2007; finance, 3.5 percent from 5.8 percent; and private services, 4.1 percent from 5.3 percent.

Odre more than doubled its growth as it went up from 1.2 percent to 2.8 percent, and government services substantially grew from 3.6 percent in 2007 to 6.9 percent in 2008.

AFF posted the biggest contribution to the GRDP growth at 2.8 percentage points followed by the industry sector at 1.1 percentage point and the services sector at 0.7 percentage point.

Real figures per capita GRDP increased by 2.3 percent from P12,499 in 2007 to P12,792 in 2008.

A region’s gross domestic product, or GRDP, is defined as the market value of all final goods and services produced within a region in a given period. It is considered as the single most-important indicator of economic performance. The GRDP is compiled on an annual basis by the National Statistical Coordination Board.

Sagittarius Mines Inc., based in Tampakan, South Cotabato, said that based on their records, Philippine mineral wealth is estimated to be 30.8 billion metric tons, 11.8 billion tons of which is metallic.

These vast resources were found in 77 percent of the country’s 76 provinces. In spite of the vast popular opposition among the affected communities, especially the highlander tribes and other cause-oriented groups like church-based organizations who go against the exploration activities of these mining companies, efforts remained unheard by the concerned Congress and Senate, said Bishop Dinualdo Gutierez, DD, of the Catholic Diocese of Marbel in Koronadal City.

“The dream to make the Philippines a newly industrializing country is a nightmare to the masses after former President Fidel V. Ramos approved the financial and technical assistance agreement [FTAA] that would leave behind the uncertainty of environmental fight against the mining firms all over the country,” Gutierez said.

Gutierez stressed that their fight against mining in Tampakan operated by Sagittarius Mines is still ongoing despite some inconsistences of the national government.

“During the administration [of former President Ramos], he not only sold the people’s interests to greedy foreign investors, but also the soul of the Filipinos, as foreign policy dictates and controls us,” Cecile Diono, spokesperson of the Freedom from Debt Coalition, said.

Diono said that Republic Act 7947, known as the Mining Act, invites foreign investors to open the country’s vast mineral resources through the FTAA, and upon crafting the FTAA, allows transnational and multinational corporations to engage in open-pit mining activities in the Philippines.

“The FTAA....[is] implemented without further restrictions and prohibitions regardless of the impact that these mining activities may bring to the local populace,” Diono said.

Fr. Roming Cathedral, director of the Justice and Peace Desk of the Diocese of Marbel, in a statement said they will not stop fighting against the mining firms operating in South Cotabato, especially SMI Mining Co., as they will strongly stand to stop its activities at all costs.