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MANILA - The South Cotabato provincial government has sought an independent review of the environmental impact statement submitted by the proponent of the $5.9-billion Tampakan copper-gold project.
South Cotabato Governor Arthur Pingoy said the provincial government has commissioned the German Development Cooperation to examine the adequacy of the EIS submitted by Sagittarius Mines Inc.
SMI is the local unit of Xstrata Copper and Indophil Resources NL for the Tampakan mining project.
“We want an independent and credible body - who are experts in mining and land use - to review the study and tell us that the study or assessment is true," Pingoy said.
Apart from GIZ, the provincial government also tapped Geos Mining, another German consultant, to assist in the review, Pingoy said.
He said the two German organizations will look into the correctness of the findings of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and Mines and Geosciences Bureau, both state agencies that earlier approved the EIS submitted by SMI.
“Although the DENR and the MGB have approved the EIS, the credibility of the government agencies remained questionable,” he said.
Pingoy, who recently went on a two-week study tour in Germany, said this procedure would be followed in future projects that would be undertaken in the province, ensuring the EIS is credible. The governor's tour is part of GIZ's program.
The Tampakan project has hit a roadblock after the South Cotabato provincial council imposed a ban on open-pit mining.
The DENR has since denied SMI's application for an environmental compliance certificate. The company is awaiting Malacanang's review of the ECC.
SMI earlier said the DENR’s decision to reject the company's ECC application was not made on the merits of the project EIS.
The Tampakan mine has 2.4 billion metric tons of deposits, containing 13.5 million metric tons of copper and 15.8 million ounces of gold at a 0.3 percent cutoff grade.
The project is expected to contribute P134 billion to the Philippine economy each year, translating to an annual one percent increase to output over a 20-year period.
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