Glencore cuts budget at Tampakan copper-gold mine in the Philippines

Glencore Xstrata will cut up to 920 jobs and take the axe to spending at its US$5.9 billion Tampakan copper-gold project in the Philippines, one of several future mines under review since the company was formed in a record-breaking takeover.

Tampakan, a challenging project in a restive region of the southern Philippines, has not been officially put up for sale.

But, like many of the big-ticket mining projects previously held by Xstrata, it is under review by its new owners and is one of four projects Glencore has said it could sell to appease Chinese regulators' concerns over its dominance in copper - if it is unable to sell the Las Bambas mine in Peru.

Sagittarius Mines, which is 62.5 per cent-owned by Glencore, said yesterday it had revised its work plan as the project still faced "substantial development challenges" - including a ban on open-pit mining in South Cotabato province.

That means it is unlikely to hit an already revised 2019 target for first production.

"No investment decision can be made until the current project challenges are resolved and necessary approvals obtained," Sagittarius spokesman John Arnaldo said.