Xstrata Unit Sagittarius Could Delay Production at 5.9 Billion Philippines Project

Mining Weekly reported that Sagittarius Mines Inc., a unit of Xstrata plc (LSE:XTA), may have to delay the planned 2016 start of production at its Tampakan copper-gold project, located in the Southern Philippines.

As quoted in the market news:

Until now, Sagittarius Mines has said it was confident it would be able to start production in 2016, despite being denied permission to start building the mine, which is believed to contain one of the world’s biggest copper-gold deposits.

The firm had wanted to obtain environmental clearance early this year but the government refused, meaning mine construction — expected to take two to three years — is unlikely to start in 2013 as planned.

“Our project has experienced a number of challenges, particularly in the past twelve months,” Sagittarius spokesman John Arnaldo said in an e-mailed statement.

“Until we have addressed these challenges, and obtained the necessary approvals from the government and community, it is difficult to nominate a definitive production date,” he said.

Click here to read the full Mining Weekly report.