Philippines Approves Xstrata $5.9 Billion Mine Environmental Permit

The Philippines environmental regulator has given a unit of Xstrata PLC (XTA.LN) conditional approval to develop what will be Philippines' largest gold and copper mine.

Environmental approval at the $5.9 billion Tampakan mine, which the company has said will produce around 375,000 tons of copper and 360,000 ounces of gold a year over a 17-year period, has been complicated by a ban on open-pit mines in South Cotabato province. The mine, which covers nearly 100 square kilometers, also straddles Sarangani, Sultan Kudarat and Davao del Sur provinces on the southern island of Mindanao.

Xstrata Copper subsidiary Sagittarius Mines Inc. will still need approval from the local government and other state agencies, Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Ramon Paje said in a statement.

Sagittarius Mines said Tuesday in a statement that it has received the permit and is "reviewing the terms and conditions contained in the document."

Construction at the mine "could potentially commence in 2015, enabling commercial production in 2019," Sagittarius Mines President Peter Forrestal said in December.

Sagittarius Mines took control as operator of Tampakan in 2007. The project is a joint venture among the Tampakan Group, Xstrata and Australia-listed Indophil Resources NL (IRN.AU). The Tampakan Group--composed of local businesses--owns 60% of Sagittarius Mines, with the balance shared by Xstrata and Indophil, which in turn is partly owned by Philippine conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC.PH).

The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines, a mining industry group, welcomed the environmental permit's issuance.

"It's an encouraging sign from the government, which has[said] that the Philippines needs at least $3 billion in investments to create jobs," the chamber said.

The government cut its investment target for mining last year to $509 million from $2.27 billion due to delays in some projects. The investment target this year was also reduced, to $718.5 million from $2 billion previously. The mining industry had pointed to uncertainty in the government's mining policy, permitting challenges and a moratorium on the grant of new mining licenses as reasons for project delays.

Although the Philippines is the world's third-largest nickel producer and contributes to the global trade in other metals, the value of mining exports has slipped from more than 20% of the country's total exports four decades ago to less than 6% in 2011. (http://fxn.ws/UCwxvt)

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DOST’ S&T Led “Smarter Philippines” 2018 Pinoy Innovation

Disaster Risk Exposure Assessment for Mitigation – Light Detection and Ranging (DREAM-LIDAR) Project

'Smarter Philippines' DOST's new program

Science Secretary Mario Montejo has a new catchphrase for the various information and communications technology-driven, Filipino-developed technological innovations that his department has initiated and will initiate in the next five years.

"The 'Smarter Philippines' program is the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) trademark for the next five years," Montejo said in his first news conference for the year.

"It is anchored tightly on the DOST's goal of using S&T (science and technology) to improve the quality and productivity of every Filipino's life," he said.

He said Smarter Philippines is the umbrella program that will encompass the DOST's S&T initiatives on various fronts such as disaster mitigation, governance, health care, agriculture and transportation.

The DOST will formally launch the program in Davao City to showcase some of its ongoing projects for the following:

1. Project Noah (Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards) disaster warning system and its biggest component
2. The Disaster Risk Exposure and Assessment for Mitigation-Light Detection and Ranging (Dream-Lidar) flood forecasting system
3. The Integrated Government Philippine (iGovPhil) project, which was rolled out in June and which seeks to integrate and interconnect the government's ICT systems
4. Smarter Farms
5. Smarter Healthcare.

Montejo stressed that all the innovations were developed by Filipino experts.

"We will brandish world-class products and processes that are conceptualized by local talents and experts and developed using local technologies," he said.

Montejo also cited the DOST's most recent innovations, namely, the ₱350-million state-of-the-art Advanced Device and Materials Testing Laboratory (Admatel) for the semiconductor and electronics industries and the Automated Guideway Transit that is currently being tested as an alternative mass transportation system.

In the pipeline, Montejo said, are the dengue diagnostic kit, dengue early warning system, drugs made from local herbs and the RxBox that will connect health professionals in the countryside.

In agriculture, he said the DOST and the Department of Agriculture were designing farm implements for more effective farming. (http://bit.ly/WDhhwM)

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