Philippine paramilitaries attack Xstrata mine

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) has confirmed that the recent attack on Sagittarius Mines’ Tampakan copper/gold project located on Mindanao, was made by in the New People’s Army, the party’s paramilitary wing.

Sagittarius is a subsidiary of Xstrata and the raid focused on the destruction of buildings at the site.

The CPP’s website currently contains a statement saying that: “the raid … had the singular objective of punishing the giant Swiss mining firm for land grabbing, plunder and environmental destruction in response to a longstanding demand of the people to put a stop to the firm’s operations in the area.”

The attack was made during the Christmas holiday period, apparently to avoid civilian casualties, although security staff were involved and shots were fired.

Sagittarius Mines and Xstrata have denied that there is serious local opposition to the mine but the CPP says it will continue offensive operations against big foreign mining companies.

It is accusing the Government of the Philippines of allowing such companies to “siphon out billions of dollars worth of Philippine natural resources to the further detriment of the people’s livelihood and the environment.”

The Tampakan deposit represents the largest undeveloped copper-gold deposit in the South East Asia’s Western Pacific Region.