Philippines

The Philippines ranks 16th in world output, with 32 tonnes (1.04 million oz) of gold produced in 2001, according to GFMS.

While production in many countries has increased over recent years, in the Philippines, which ranked eighth in 1987, it has been steadily eroded through a combination of political uncertainty, difficulties with mining laws and the natural disasters of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. New deposits are certainly there, but the confidence to encourage international investment to develop them has been missing.

Regular gold production started in the Philippines in 1907. Initially, gold came from primary deposits, but since the 1960s more has originated in porphyry copper deposits. The Philippines is on the Pacific Basin’s “rim of fire” and, like its neighbours, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, has both porphyry and epithermal deposits. Informal placer mining is also active around Baguio and at Davao on Mindanao island.

Considerable exploration by Australian and North American companies during the 1990s was ultimately thwarted by the declining gold price and local political insecurity. Philex Gold opened the Bulawan mine in Negros Occidental province in 1996, with potential output up to five tonnes (0.16 million oz), but it was not a success and in 2001 output reached only 1.8 tonnes (0.05 million oz).

This leaves only one significant primary gold mine; Lepanto Consolidated’s Victoria gold mine yielded around 5 tonnes (0.16 million oz) in 2001 (Manila Mining Corporation’s Manila mine closed down in the first half of last year). Output as a by-product of copper mining also declined, with Philex Mining’s Padcal contributing roughly 4 tonnes (0.13 million oz) and Manila Mining’s various copper deposits yielding 0.5 tonnes (0.02 million oz). This left gold output for the Philippines roughly 9% lower when compared to the previous year.