Philippine Mining Industry: Bonanza and Curse

The 7,100 islands of the Philippine Archipelago, formed 43 million years ago and sitting on top of steep underwater mountains, contain some of the richest mineral deposits in the world, with an estimated US$73 billion in gold, US$56.7 billion in copper and US$2 billion in silver.

The constant volcanic upthrusting from the islands’ share of the Ring of Fi…