Aussie firm to start operating gold-copper plant in Vizcaya

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya — Amid the stiff opposition from church-led anti-mining groups, the controversial multi-billion Didipio gold-copper project will start its operation early next year.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) approved the feasibility study of Australian firm Climax Mining Ltd., the parent company of Climax Arimco Mining Corp. (CAMC), which contracted the $81 million gold-copper project in Didipio village in Kasibu town here.

"(The approval) clears the way for us to finalize the development and make a fast start on construction. And it clearly signals to the rest of the mining world that the Philippines is open for business," said Rob Thomson, Climax’s chief executive officer, in a statement e-mailed to The STAR.

Thomson said that the government approval means that CAMC, also known as Australasian Philippines Mining Inc. (APMI), can now start its full operation anytime early next year. In such case, he said, the Didipio project will be the first majority foreign-owned mine to conduct such operation in the country under the Philippine Mining Act of 1995.

President Arroyo, who authored the Mining Act of 1995 during her stint in the Senate, considers the Didipio project as one of her administration’s flagship mining projects.

When operational, the Didipio project will produce an average of 94,000 ounces of gold as well as 10,000 tons of copper a year. Based on the technical feasibility study approved recently by DENR Secretary Michael Defensor, CAMC would mine Didipio of its mineral deposits for 15 years.

Dominated by indigenous tribes, Didipio, located in the remote mountain boundary of Nueva Vizcaya and Qurino, is about four hours from this capital town. Its Dinkidi Hill, believed to have a multibillion peso gold and copper deposits, is the center of the full mining operation.

In approving Didipio’s technical feasibility, which is a prerequisite to obtaining a full-operation permit, the DENR said that it found the project to be economically and technically viable. Defensor assured the public that CAMC can comply with all the social, environmental and fiscal requirements of the Mining Act of 1995 and its implementing rules and regulations.

"Having endured the approvals process, Climax (CAMC) is ready to get on with the job of transforming its reputation from a company locked in a difficult approvals process to that of a company with a mine under development," Thomson said.

The Didipio project was delayed for years as a result of a previous Supreme Court ruling that disallowed 100 percent foreign ownership of big mines. — Charlie Lagasca