MANILA – BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) will be allowed to pursue development plans for a Philippine nickel mine after an international arbitration panel ruled in the Australian miner’s favor in a conflict with a local partner, Philippines Environment Secretary Jose Atienza said Wednesday.

“BHP won the case and this should wake up the local partner that BHP is decided to remain in the Philippines and exercise their rights on the (joint venture) agreement.” Atienza told reporters. “We are ready to implement the decision.”

Atienza said that he will soon meet with representatives from BHP and its local partner to discuss the arbitration panel’s decision.

“We don’t want an extended delay,” he said, adding that the government wants benefits from the project for the Philippines to begin as soon as possible.

BHP and local partner Asiaticus Management Corp. had been at loggerheads over development plans at a mine in the Pujada peninsula in southern Philippines, where nickel ore reserves have been estimated at 150 million metric tons at 1.3% nickel.

Asiaticus had said BHP was too slow in developing the mining project and that the mining giant had failed to deliver on its investment promise.

Mines and Geosciences Bureau Director Horacio Ramos said an arbitration panel in Singapore had decided that BHP could proceed with its development plans at Pujada as it hadn’t violated its joint venture agreement with Asiaticus.

“BHP was right – and it can proceed with the project,” Ramos told reporters.

The two companies agreed in principle last year on an “ore supply agreement” for Pujada that allows Asiaticus to start mineral extraction on certain parts of the area while BHP proceeds with exploration.

It isn’t known whether this agreement will be carried out.

“That arrangement was feasible when nickel prices were at high levels,” Ramos said. “But why throw money away at this time when nickel prices have fallen?”

In 2007, the Philippine government announced BHP would invest up to $2 billion in the country, including the construction of a nickel processing plant.

The nickel facility should start construction by 2010 and be fully operational two years later, the government had said.