DAVAO CITY, Philippines — Advocates and environmental groups oppose the P308 billion Kingking Copper-Gold Project expansion in Pantukan, Davao de Oro, warning of threats to ancestral lands, forests and watersheds.
Kingking Mining Corp., or KMC, is moving forward with the expansion of the copper-gold project after years of delays caused by regulatory restrictions and the COVID-19 pandemic. KMC is a joint venture involving St. Augustine Gold and Copper Ltd., or SAGC, Nationwide Development Corp., or NDC, and Queensberry Mining and Development Corp.
The P307.8 billion would triple in cost, expanding its mine area from 1,521 hectares to 6,933 hectares over an estimated 42-month long construction period.
The expansion will continue to use the open-pit mining method and is expected to produce up to 89 million metric tons of ore per year, according to the company’s regulatory disclosures.
The project secured its Environmental Compliance Certificate, or ECC, in 2015 and a Mineral Processing Permit in 2016. Operations were delayed following nationwide moratorium on new open-pit mining activities imposed in 2017. The company decided to proceed after the government lifted the moratorium in 2021, and amid sustained increases in global copper and gold prices.
SAGC has described Kingking as one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits. The company said the project would supply minerals needed for the global energy transition and generate economic benefits for surrounding communities if developed responsibly.
‘The state itself is destroying it’
For Kat Dalon, vice chairperson of Sabokahan Unity of Lumad Women, the project’s revival reflects what she described as the government’s disregard for the land needs of Indigenous peoples and farmers.
“The struggle of the Lumad in Davao de Oro to defend their land has been long and intense. But now, they will simply continue their operations. Mining companies focus only on extracting valuable minerals while the indigenous communities are left to deal with the long-term environmental degradation. Then, they wait for decades for the land to recover ,” Dalon told Davao Today, speaking in Cebuano.
Dalon criticized the Marcos administration’s continued promotion of large-scale mining projects despite opposition from indigenous communities whose people are being hunted down as they sacrifice their lives to defend their lands.
She rejected the argument that large-scale mining can coexist with environmental protection as it brings calamities such as landslides and other disasters caused by mining activities.
Environmental risks
For Ma. Juliana Garcia of Panalipdan Youth Davao, the concerns extend beyond ancestral land because the scale of the proposed extraction and its potential effects on biodiversity could be catastrophic.
Technical studies of the Kingking project documented 253 endemic plant species, including 12 classified as vulnerable or critically endangered, as well as 74 bird species, 17 mammal species and 10 reptile species in the area.
“One of the environmental concerns here would be habitat destruction… definitely there is going to be a large-scale mining operations which will put the flora and fauna in the areas at risk,” Garcia told Davao today.
SAGC estimated that over a 23-year mine life, production will yield about 3.1 billion pounds of copper, 5 million ounces of gold and nearly 10 million ounces of silver.
Garcia said potential mine waste and tailings could also affect agricultural lands, rivers, and marine habitats downstream, disrupting residents’ livelihoods and endangering local wildlife.
Mattie Balagat, executive director of the Center for Environmental Concerns-Philippines (CEC), fears massive disturbance to Pantukan’s forest landscape from mountain excavation. The project requires extensive roads, water systems, power infrastructure and other facilities hat could disrupt a wider area.
Pantukan’s forests provide ecosystem services including water regulation, soil stabilization, biodiversity habitat, and carbon storage.
“So conversion ng kagubatan into mining area is napakasama siya for the ecosystem,” Balagat told Davao Today, speaking in Tagalog. She explained the forests face mounting pressure from climate change and environmental decline in Davao de Oro.
Balagat also warned that changes to the landscape could increase erosion and sedimentation, potentially affecting waterways and downstream communities.
The affected area is a watershed whose runoff flows into rivers, groundwater basins and coastal waters of neighboring municipalities.
Garcia and Balagat cited the February 2024 landslide in the municipality of Masara, Maco, as a reminder of the disaster risks facing mining communities in Davao de Oro.
The landslide occurred in a mining-host community where Apex Mining Co. Inc. operates. The incident resulted in 93 confirmed deaths, while authorities initially reported 98 recovered bodies and body parts.
The Mines and Geosciences Bureau, or MGB, said the landslide site was outside Apex’s active mine site and attributed the disaster to persistent rainfall and existing geo-hazards. The agency noted that the area had previously been identified as highly susceptible to landslides and had been recommended as a no-build zone.
Dalon, however, questioned labelling the disaster as purely natural.
“How can you say it was a natural disaster when the soil loosened because of mining operations? Then they told us it was a natural disaster?” Dalon said.
Questions over safeguards, FPIC
Previous mining disasters in the Philippines, including tailings spills, demonstrate what Balagat warned could happen even when environmental regulations are followed.
“Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) are becoming just a compliance exercise,” Balagat said. “Since companies commission their own studies, the findings naturally favor mining approvals regardless of actual environmental conditions.
Dalon also questioned the integrity of the Free, Prior and Informed Consent, or FPIC, process required under the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act, or IPRA, for projects affecting ancestral domains.
“In the Lumad’s experiences, the mining companies secure their FPIC. They have plenty of tactics and do everything just to secure the FPIC. So we see that it is truly not effective,” Dalon said.
Dalon accused the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, or NCIP, of enabling mining projects by issuing certifications for developments in ancestral domains. The commission is the government agency mandated to protect and promote the rights of indigenous peoples, including overseeing FPIC processes for projects within ancestral domains under IPRA.
Dalon cited the killings of anti-mining indigenous leaders in Pantukan over the years as evidence that resistance to mining projects has persisted.
“If the Lumad are still open to giving their land, why is the struggle so intense among Mansaka, the Lumad in Pantukan? Why are there killings… The leaders there were killed because they opposed mining,” she said.
In January 2016, Teresita “Bebeng” Navacilla, convenor of Save Pantukan Movement and a critic of the Kingking mining project, died after being shot by unidentified gunmen in Barangay Kingking. Human rights groups linked the attack to her anti-mining advocacy, while the Pantukan police initially pursued a personal grudge as a possible motive.
Both NDC and SAGC denied any involvement in the killing and said they would cooperate with the investigation.
‘Economic growth for whom?’
While government officials have promoted mining as a driver of economic growth, Dalon argued that its contribution to the national economy does not justify what she described as its social and environmental costs.
Citing research by the IBON Foundation, she said the mining industry’s contribution to the country’s gross domestic product remains below 1%.
Dalon also criticized the government’s decision to lift the moratorium on open-pit mining in 2021, saying local communities, not the national government, should determine whether mining projects proceed.
Currently, KMC is seeking amendments to its ECC to accommodate the project’s expanded scope. Construction is expected to take about 42 months once all regulatory requirements are secured.
The Kingking project has long been among the country’s largest proposed mining ventures. It will cover seven barangays in Pantukan: Kingking, Magnate, Tagdangua, Napnapan, Bongbong, Tibagon and Bongabong.
According to company filings, the mine contains an estimated 962.3 million metric tons of mineral resources and is strategically located with direct shipping access to major copper markets in Southeast Asia.
KMC said the expansion is expected to include mine development, land acquisition, engineering works, processing facilities, equipment procurement and permitting. (davaotoday.com)
