Southern Philippines: an attack on last Saturday

Tag : copper mining

No one was injured in the attack last Saturday in the southern Philippines. "Local media reports a regional military commander as saying that12 hours after the incident at the drill rig, two soldiers werewounded in a clash with a group believed to be responsible for theattack on the drill rig," the company added.
The Tampakan lode, with 11.6 million tonnes of copper and 14.6million ounces of gold, is held 62.5 percent by Xstrata Copper,34.23 percent by Indophil and the rest by Philippine interests thatIndophil has the option to buy out.
The attack comes amid a corporate battle for the mine, with Xstrataand a consortium of investors, including Indophil's managingdirector, lodging competing A$1.28 a share offers for Indophil,valuing the company at A$503 million ($488 million).
Indophil on Monday issued a report saying independent evaluatorsthink the company is worth between $1.41-A$1.56 a share given thesize of Tampakan.
The attackers at Tampakan numbered about 30 and were part of thecommunist-backed New People's Army (NPA) long active in thesouthern Philippines, a source close to the project said.
The source added that the attack may have been timed to coincidewith a visit by Arroyo to nearby General Santos City on Mindanaoisland.
Discovered in 1991, the mine has never left the drawing board,dogged by environmental and economic problems, politicalinstability and laws restricting foreign ownership.
The Philippines has seen only $1 billion flowing into the miningsector since 2004 -- a pittance compared to the tens of billionsspent in South America, Africa, Australia and other mineral richregions.
The Maoist NPA, which is waging one of the world's longest-runningcommunist insurgencies, is opposed to foreign and localcorporations exploiting natural resources in the country. Since thestart of the year, three mining firms have been attacked bycommunist guerrillas in other parts of Mindanao, including a raidon Tampakan on January 1.
Separately, Catholic bishops in the Philippines in June askedprovincial leaders to stop development of the Tampakan mine, sayingit would cause environmental damage and hurt local farming andfishing industries.