MindaNews » Tampakan mining project feared to repeat ‘Sendong’ tragedy.

  MANILA (MindaNews/24 December) — The devastating flash floods that struck Northern Mindanao and killed at least 1,100 residents on December 17 can be repeated” in Southwestern Mindanao if the large-scale Tampakan copper-gold project of  Sagittarius Mines, Inc. (SMI) will be allowed to proceed, a local militant group warned.

Tropical storm Sendong (international name “Washi”) brought rains that flooded the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan and parts of Bukidnon province.

Ryan Lariba, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-SOCKSARGEN secretary general, said that mining and logging ventures in the hinterlands of Mindanao has caused wanton environmental destruction and deforestation.

He urged the Aquino government to refrain from allowing these destructive industries to operate, particularly in Mindanao.

SMI, controlled by Xstrata Copper, the world’s fourth largest copper producer, plans to go on commercial stream in 2016 for its Tampakan copper-gold project.

The project site straddles the towns of Tampakan in South Cotabato, Columbio in Sultan Kudarat and Kiblawan in Davao del Sur.

Lariba said the tragedies that struck in the National Capital Region in 2009 – Ondoy – and in Northern Mindanao recently would also happen in the region comprising South Cotabato, Sarangani, Sultan Kudarat and North Cotabato and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong, Kidapawan and Cotabato,  should the giant company Xstrata-SMI and other environmentally destructive projects continue its operations, according to Lariba.

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