4 days ago
7
Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!
Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.
Visit Suniway.ph to learn
A worker puts the finishing touches to a metal bar.
STAR / File
MANILA, Philippines — The country’s metallic mineral production in the first quarter rose by more than a fifth year-on-year to almost P64 billion, driven by higher value of gold, silver and copper, according to the Mines and Geosciences Bureau.
Latest MGB data showed that metal production from January to March was valued at P63.88 billion, about 22 percent higher than the P52.03 billion in the same period last year.
Majority of the metallic output or about 64 percent came from gold production. Gold output reached P40.88 billion, more than half than the P26.48 billion recorded last year.
Volume wise, gold production hit 7,735 kilos in the first quarter, almost 10 percent over the 7,041 kilos recorded last year.
World Bank data showed that world gold prices in the first quarter rose by 38 percent year-on-year to $2,863 per thousand ounce from $2,072 per thousand ounce.
Value of silver output, meanwhile, reached P740.39 million, about 63 percent higher than the P453.04 million last year. In terms of volume, silver production rose by 18 percent to 12,536 kilos from 10,603 kilos.
World silver prices expanded by 36 percent year-on-year in the first quarter to $31.9 per thousand ounce from $23.4 per thousand ounce, based on World Bank data.
Production of copper rose by 7.8 percent to P6.89 billion from P6.4 billion buoyed by higher global prices despite a 12-percent drop in volume of output, MGB data showed. Copper output fell to 59,423 dry metric tons from 67,582 dry metric tons.
World Bank data indicated that the average price of copper in the first quarter reached $9,354 per metric ton, up 10 percent than the $8,444 per metric ton average price last year.
Meanwhile, the country’s nickel ore output fell by 34.5 percent to 2.65 million dry metric tons from last year’s 4.05 million dry metric tons. Value wise, nickel production also declined by 19.4 percent to P6.63 billion from P8.23 billion.
