Sitting on a Gold Mine: Will Mining Make or Break the Philippines?

The Philippine government believes bolstering extractive industries will drive growth. But religious leaders and environmentalists wonder about the cost

By CATHERINE TRAYWICK
September 13, 2012

In Compostela Valley, in the southern Philippines, a river streaked many shades of brown cuts through farmland and jungle brush to release its muck into the sea. The slurry swells around the coastline, muddying the emerald waters. The source of the blight is an eroded mountainside peppered with blue tarps and tiny shacks, a gold mine nestled among green hills. About 600 families reside on its steep slope, eking out a living by half-grams of gold.

They are, technically, squatters. An American company, St. Augustine Gold & Copper, holds the rights to this mountain and those surrounding it. In their place, the company wants to build massive pits to get at the estimated 962 million tons of precious metals beneath. They also promise to clean the river, plant trees and create jobs. It is a massive undertaking that will dramatically alter the landscape and displace the thousands of workers who have been mining in the area, and fueling the local economy, since the 1980s.

The Philippine government, for its part, is rooting for the American firm, grounded in the belief that large-scale mining can be a golden engine of economic growth. Corporate mining permits have multiplied under President Benigno Aquino III, and new mining rules filed by his administration this week will place new restrictions on where and what small-scale miners can mine. But many Filipinos, especially those from mining communities, are wary of his plans. They want an overhaul of current mining laws. They also want a bigger piece of the profit.

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