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Advertisement Asia Asia’s EVolution: In the mountains of Mindanao, a copper fight with global stakes powered by electric vehicles In this first part of a series on electric vehicles in Asia, CNA examines how one of Southeast Asia’s largest untapped copper deposits in Mindanao could boost the Philippines’ role in the global EV supply chain. The indigenous Blaan tribe, a mountain-dwelling people of southern Mindanao, will be directly impacted by the proposed Tampakan mine. (Photo: CNA/Jack Board) New: You can now listen to articles. This audio is generated by an AI tool. Jack Board Jack Board 15 Mar 2026 06:00AM (Updated: 15 Mar 2026 01:40PM) Bookmark Bookmark Share WhatsApp Telegram Facebook Twitter Email LinkedIn Set CNA as your preferred source on Google Add CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results. Read a summary of this article on FAST. Get bite-sized news via a newcards interface. Give it a try. Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST FAST KORONADAL, Philippines: The rough, juddering road to Tampakan is flanked by languid dogs and animated roosters, modest breeze-block houses and burning coconut husks.Small streams cut the path and signs warn of the risks of landslides in these mountains of upland Mindanao in the Philippines.There are eyes on the road too. Local men in uniforms run security along the ancestral domain now in the hands of a mining company about which little is known.For decades, the promise of mining has hovered over this mountain. CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less Tampakan municipality is the home of the indigenous Blaan tribe. It also holds the largest untapped copper-gold reserve in Southeast Asia, with roughly three billion tonnes of ore that could be worth tens or even hundreds of billions of dollars in raw commodity terms.The Philippines is trying to position itself as an important player in the electric vehicle supply chain, and its vast resources of copper could be crucial for the region’s green transition.To reach the goal, however, places like Tampakan could be ripped up in the name of extraction. The misty mountains of southern Mindanao, where an open pit mine is being proposed. (Photo: CNA/Jack Board) As global demand for copper surges - for EVs, charging stations, data centres, power grids and renewable energy infrastructure - the stakes have never been higher.The Tampakan mining project has already resulted in a mountain divided.Long stalled by shifting regulations and local and environmental opposition, it is back in play after the Philippine government lifted a nine-year open-pit mining ban in 2021.On paper, it could be fully operational over the next year or two. In reality, it remains stalled, locked in dispute.Still, the signs of activity are visible: Company-installed warning tape cuts through cornfields, and residents say they have been warned not to enter areas they once considered their own - land now under 25-year leases to Sagittarius Mines, Inc. (SMI). For Nora Puli Sukal, a tribe leader, the land is sacred ground.Her family home lies near the highest point of the mountain while below, rice fields are fed by rivers. She is holding out, refusing to sign over her land to SMI, unlike many in the community who have done so in recent years.“This is the only memory left of our parents … and of our ancestors. This is all that remains. That is why it is important to me that we don’t lose this,” she said.She speaks of the sounds of birds and streams, the cold and fog of the early mornings.But change looms in the form of the barbed-wire fences, idle diggers and the outsiders who want to excavate what lies underground. Nora Puli Sukal has not allowed the mining company to lease her patch of land in Tampakan. (Photo: CNA/Jack Board) THE RED METALCopper is a highly prized metal. With global deficits of the red metal, huge reserves like those in Tampakan are poised to be even more lucrative.Its price has roughly doubled over the past decade, with recent all-time highs reflecting a combination of growing demand tied to the transition to cleaner energy and concerns about supply disruptions.“Copper is getting really hot,” said Duo Fu, vice-president of battery market research at Rystad Energy, an independent energy research and business intelligence firm.Roughly 900,000 tonnes of new copper capacity must be added every year just to slow the widening shortfall, according to analysis from consulting firm Wood Mackenzie.Energy‑transition demand for copper is expected to double by 2040, making it one of the most indispensable materials for a decarbonised economy, said its head of copper research, Charles Cooper.Electric vehicles, for instance, are replacing fossil fuel-powered vehicles in many countries. Each EV uses up to four times more copper than a conventional car, “reshaping long‑term demand as the world embraces EVs”, Cooper said. An electric bus or truck could have up to four times as much copper in its build than an electric car.In EVs, copper is used in motor windings, battery connections, high-voltage cables, wiring for electronics and internal circuitry. Fast-charging infrastructure is also especially copper-intensive.Copper demand from EVs is expected to rise from around 6 per cent of total copper consumption last year to 12 per cent by 2040, Cooper said. Enormous deposits of copper and gold lay within the mountain. (Photo: CNA/Jack Board) Beyond vehicles, there is surging investment in power grid upgrades, renewable energy build‑outs, AI‑driven data centres and digital infrastructure, all of which require copper.“The copper market is perennially in deficit when you look a decade out. Even with sustained investment, keeping pace with demand is a Sisyphean task: As you build capacity, the hill gets steeper,” he said.Southeast Asia is a key player in critical copper supply chains, led by Indonesia, which accounted for about 4.5 per cent of global mined copper production in 2024.“Billions of dollars in new smelting investment are transforming it into a full‑spectrum copper powerhouse,” Cooper said of Indonesia.The Philippine government, too, wants a stake in the copper race.From 2021, under former President Rodrigo Duterte, mining was increasingly framed as essential to the country’s economic recovery from the global pandemic, to attract foreign investment and to getting the Philippines more active in the global energy transition.The current administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has positioned the Philippines as a potential supplier of critical minerals for the clean-energy transition. Related: Goldman Sachs downgrades copper supply forecast after Grasberg mine disruption Toxic mines put Southeast Asia's rivers, people at risk: Study Officials have also pushed for investment in local processing to capture more value from minerals and create jobs.In speeches last year, Marcos urged miners to help make the country a reliable source of materials including nickel and copper, while insisting that extraction must meet strict environmental and social standards.“Mining has long been a great part of our nation’s story. From the gold veins of Baguio, to the copper deposits of Cebu, to the nickel belts in Mindanao — these resources have provided livelihoods and shaped communities throughout the years,” he said at the Mining Philippines 2025 International Conference and Exhibition.“Today, mining goes beyond just extraction. Minerals are vital to electric vehicles, batteries (and) new technologies that promote clean energy. To be given this much potential is both a blessing and a responsibility,” he said. Disagreements over supporting the mining project has caused community divisions in Tampakan. (Photo: CNA/Jack Board) It is also a s