Radio Australia Updated 14 July 2012, 20:02 AEST
The fate of Xstrata's $5.9 billion copper-gold project in the Philippines' South Cotabato province, may be decided in court.
The fate of Xstrata's $5.9 billion copper-gold project in the Philippines South Cotabato province, may be decided in court. (Credit: AFP) .The project has been delayed for months because the regions local authorities have placed a ban on open-pit mining.
The Philippines' President Benigno Aquino recently issued a mining order saying the national government overruled local rule but the South Cotabato Governor Arthur Pingoy said his ban remained in effect until a court ruled otherwise.
"Probably, this will be taken to the proper court, so we will see if (the company) or the national government will raise it," he told the AFP news agency.
Pingoy said he was aware of the massive economic benefits of the project but said people in his province were still wary of its environmental impact.
He said both the natural resources and local government ministers were due to meet with him soon and he expected them to bring up the Xstrata project, which was originally due to go into commercial operation in 2016.
Meanwhile, the head of the government Mines and Geosciences Board Leo Jasareno expressed optimism that legal action could be avoided and that South Cotabato officials could be persuaded to lift the ban.
"There are many ways this can be addressed. The national government can talk to the local government, discuss the matter... it can be done through consultation, persuasion,"
He said Aquino's new order would provide a guide in settling the dispute.
Jasareno said the Aquino government still considered the mining project, one of the biggest foreign investments in the country's history, to be a "priority".
In a statement, Sagittarius Mines, Inc., the local subsidiary of the Xstrata-led joint venture, said it would study Aquino's new mining order to see how it relates to its mining project.
"We are encouraged that the implementation of this policy should assist in the resolution of the South Cotabato Environment Code which bans open-pit mining in the province contrary to national law," the statement added.
ABC/AFP