Tag Archives: sponsorships and donations

Tampakan triggers land speculation

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Manila Standard Today
Julito G. Rada
April 18, 2011

GENERAL SANTOS CITY—The Tampakan mining project of Sagittarius Mines Inc. is expected to spur additional investments in the region from local and foreign companies once it becomes operational in 2016, a local official told reporters over the weekend.

“This will definitely transform South Cotabato into an industrial, residential and commercial province. Right now, interested investors are planning of owning properties here in anticipation of more vibrant economic activities in the province once Tampakan commences operations in 2016,” Tampakan Mayor Leonardo Escobillo said.

He said the project had triggered an appreciation in the price of land from P150,000 per hectare to P1 million. “A number of investors have actually started landbanking in the province in preparation for 2016,” he said.

Escobillo said the SM group of retail tycoon Henry Sy had expressed to locate in the province. “Just recently, a representative from SM Cebu inquired for a possible location in General Santos but it did not say if its project would be an expansion of SM malls or if it would be a residential project,” he said.

He said former vice presidential candidate Bayani Fernando had bought a piece of land in Koronadal, the capital.

He said the mining project boosted Tampakan revenues and transformed it from a fourth-class to a second-class municipality in 2010.

Sagittarius Mines earlier said it hopes to obtain an environmental compliance certificate this year. It is preparing a study on the environmental impact of the mining project and start public consultations in the third quarter of this year.

Sagittarius Mines data showed that it had contributed P2.4 billion to the Philippine economy in 2010 in terms of employment, annual wages, government taxes, purchase of goods and services, and community partnerships, sponsorship and donations.

The project is expected to significantly contribute to the economic development of the country. Once operational, revenue stream is estimated at $37 billion, or P1.85 trillion, over the life of the mine.

Tampakan: a multi-billion dollar copper-gold project in Mindanao

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By Joe Palabao
BusinessWeek Mindanao
October 11, 2010

GENERAL Santos City––With an estimated resource totaling to 2.4 billion metric tonnes at a grade of 0.6% copper and 0.2 grams per ton gold, the Tampakan deposit is one of the largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits in the Southeast Asia-Western Pacific region. Experts say the Tampakan mine has the potential to become the largest mine in the country, and the fifth largest copper mine in the world by 2016.

The multi-billion dollar project is being undertaken by the Sagittarius Mines, Inc. (SMI) which today holds a Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA) with the Philippine government to explore and develop the project.

SMI operates the Tampakan Copper-Gold Project in Mindanao as a joint venture between Xstrata Copper, a global diversified mining group in London and Swiss stock exchanges acquiring (62.5%) share, Indophil Resources NL, an Australian-listed exploration company with (34.2%) share.

The project is expected to contribute USD37 Billion (PhP1.85 trillion) to the Philippine economy over the life of the mine. The project will have the potentials of creating more than 12,000 jobs during the mine construction and actual operation.

The Tampakan Mine Project is approximately 50 kilometers of north General Santos City and it straddles the boundaries of the four provinces of South Cotabato, Davao del Sur, Sultan Kudarat, and Saranggani.

The Project involves the development and operation of an open-pit mine and associated infrastructure within the proposed mine lease boundary.

A port, power station and filter plant to service the Tampakan Mine Project and a copper-gold concentrate pipeline system, electricity transmission line system and ancillary access roads connecting the Tampakan Mine with the port, power station and filter plant and a substation.

In a related development, the SMI will manage the Tampakan project with the aim at delivering industry-leading returns for their shareholders.

The project can be achieved through genuine partnerships with employees, customers, shareholders, which are based on integrity, co-operation, transparency and mutual value-creation.

To date the Project has benefited the host municipalities and surrounding communities in terms of employment, business development projects, taxes and fees.

In 2009, it has contributed PhP830.6 million to Mindanao economy through employment of more than 1,300 people and contractors, including a weekly average of 202 local community residents working on the project’s drilling, annual wages, local purchase of goods and services, power and fuel charges, community partnerships, sponsorships and donations.

SMI has also complied with the national regulatory framework for indigenous peoples (IPs) in respecting Indigenous Peoples Rights, and is committed to adopting the best available technologies and management practices on the natural environment and continues to demonstrate its commitment to corporate social responsibility by contributing to the social, economic and institutional development of the concerned communities being developed.