RP to benefit from Busang hoax

RP to benefit from Busang hoax

MANILA (AFP): The Philippines expects to lure foreign mining firms following revelations that the world's biggest gold find in Indonesia is a hoax, a senior government official said yesterday.

"What it vindicates is the kind of transparency of the decision-making process we follow here," said Environment and Natural Resources Undersecretary Antonio La Vina.

"The chance of a fiasco like that in Busang to happen (in the Philippines) will be nil," he said.

He said mining legislation passed by congress in 1995 had sufficient safeguards, including strict disclosure requirements, to prevent fraud such as tampering with geological data.

The mining industry was stunned Monday when independent analyst Strathcona Minerals revealed that the world's supposed richest gold field discovered by the Canadian mining firm Bre-X Minerals Ltd. at Busang in Indonesia was a hoax.

The mysterious death in March of Bre-X's chief geologist at Busang, Philippine national Michael de Guzman, has added to the controversy. De Guzman was said to have jumped from a helicopter in an apparent suicide, but family members suspect foul play.

"We would like to stress that we still have full trust in the Filipino geologists here and abroad, in their integrity, skills and technical competence since there is no proof whether geologist Michael de Guzman took part in the fraud," La Vina told reporters.

"I don't know if the geologists abroad, especially in Indonesia, are demoralized but we leave it to the Indonesian authorities to look into the alleged involvement of De Guzman in the hoax," he added.

The Philippines has approved the applications two large Australian mining companies -- ARIMCO and Western Mining Corp. -- to explore in the country since the law was passed two years ago.

Some 120 other applications are still pending with the Environment and Natural Resources Department after processing was suspended last year pending some amendments to the mining law.