BSP recognizes Southern Mindanao gold miners

DAVAO CITY – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported that Southern Mindanao has emerged as the country’s top producer of gold from small-scale mining operations, particularly those operating at Mt. Diwalwal in Monkayo, Com­postela Valley.

BSP Southern Mindanao regional manager Cesar Balan, said the region recorded the biggest volume of gold produced by small-scale miners, based on the reported purchases by the BSP gold buying station here in Davao City.

“In terms of gold sold by the small-scale miners, we lead the other areas. And we still expect a good production of gold in the region,” Balan said.

Balan said that most of the gold delivered to the Davao City gold buying station was made of high-quality metal.

“We have 98 to 99 percent purchases in 24 carat gold,” he said.

He, however, refused to disclose the exact quantity of gold the BSP had purchased from the small-scale miners in the region.

Balan said the BSP gold buying station in Davao City started in 1986, just when mining operations in Mt. Diwalwal were already booming.

Close to 50,000 small-scale miners depend on Mt. Diwalwal, which is considered to contain the country’s biggest deposit of gold ore.

Aside from the BSP, other countries like Hong Kong and Singapore also buy gold from the region.

Small-scale miners from the nearby mining sites in the provinces of Agusan and Surigao also sell their gold at the Davao City gold buying station of the central bank.

There has reportedly been an increase of at least 10 to 12 percent in the gold purchases at the Davao City buying station in 2007 compared to 2006.

At present, Balan said the buying price of gold is pegged at $878.25 per gram or at the conversion rate of P40.65 to $1, it would be P1,147.81 per gram.