|
By Katrina Mennen A. Valdez, Researcher
SUMITOMO Metal Mining Co., Ltd.
has begun feasibility study for cobalt and nickel smelter projects
in Mindanao, the Department of Trade and Industry said Wednesday.
In a statement, DTI said Sumitomo
Metal will put in more than $1 billion for exploration in the same
area where Taganito Mining Corp. is located.
Secretary Peter B. Favila of
Trade said that the government is encouraged by the expansion of
Sumitomo in Mindanao. “So long that mining firms would comply with
our various laws such our environmental requirements, they are very
welcome to do business here,” Favila said.
The Zamora group owns Taganito.
The project forms part of Sumitomo’s plan to eventually produce
100,000 tons of nickel a year. The project is part a plan to produce
100,000 tons of nickel a year.
The new venture will start in
2008 and commercial production will commence in 2012 and last for 30
years.
Favila, who is also the chairman
of the Board of Investments, said that mining ventures are big
ticket projects eligible for incentives under the Investment
Priorities Plan.
Favila said that the government
encourages mining ventures because it is beneficial to countryside
development by employing a lot of workers, laying down roads, and
developing communities that are near the mining site.
Sumitomo Metal is also completing
its $300-million expansion of its Coral Bay nickel mining and
processing project in Palawan, which is projected to double the
project’s present production capacity to 20,000 by 2009.
|
