Sagittarius Mines, Inc (SMI) operates the Tampakan copper-gold project as a joint venture between Xstrata Copper (62.5%), Indophil Resources NL (34.2%) and the Alsons Corporation (3.3%). The project is located on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, approximately 65 kilometres north of General Santos City, and is situated on the boundary of three provinces: South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Davao del Sur. Under the Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement, SMI holds a total land area of 23,571 hectares.

The Tampakan Project is one of the largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits in the South East Asia-Western Pacific region. The extended pre-feasibility study has confirmed that it is a 2.2 billion tonne deposit, containing 12.8 million tonnes of copper and 15.2 million ounces of gold at a 0.3% cut-off grade.

In 2007, the project’s field operations covered a wide range of activities including:

• Diamond drilling of 18,925 metres of rock, through 64 drill-holes at seven separate drill rig sites located throughout the project area;
• Geophysical surveys;
• Soil and rock sampling to determine the geological footprint of the deposit;
• The establishment of a test water well;
• Site visits to investigate potential mine infrastructure locations;
• Ongoing local land ownership surveys in partnership with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, Local Government Units and other local bodies;
• Positioning environmental monitoring equipment and re-establishing environmental baseline studies; and
• Progressing sustainable development programs with local communities.

The project currently employs approximately 447 employees and contractors and a further 325 local community members who work weekly rotational shifts on the project’s exploratory drill rigs.