By Alex Villafania
INQUIRER.net
FOR some people, the prospect of visiting an active mine isn’t that thrilling, especially at the thought of getting stuck in a dark and damp underground shaft. However, it isn’t as boring as it seems. In fact, an active mine is as busy as any industry on the surface. Incidentally, it’s not as dangerous.
The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) brought a few reporters to Philex Mines in Tuba, Benguet, one of the country’s busiest active mines. This is one of the few times that outsiders were allowed to go to Philex Mines, situated about an hour and a half away from Baguio City. Only government officials and some geology-related engineering students and experts are allowed into the mine. It should be because the mine produces billions of pesos in copper, as well as silver and gold.
History
Philex Mines was incorporated in 1956 and mining operations started in 1958. It was the first cave operation in the Far East. From the start, the owners of Philex Mines hired locals for the mining operations. During the early years, the area of Tuba was sparsely populated, so the investors looked for laborers from the outer regions. As depicted in Hollywood films, miners used traditional pick axes and trolley trains to transport ore deposits from inside the mountain to the surface where the precious metals are extracted. The ores are actually blasted from solid rock deep within the mountain using dynamite.
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