Mineral production climbs 28% to P82.8 billion in 3 months

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June 2, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The value of the country’s metallic mineral production rose by 28.6 percent in the first quarter, lifted by higher gold and nickel prices despite weaker production volumes.

Data from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau showed that overall mineral output reached P82.78 billion in the three-month period, from P64.35 billion last year.

Gold was the top contributor to overall production during the period at P53.78 billion, followed by nickel direct shipping ore valued at P10.69 billion.

The value of the country’s gold production rose by 31.2 percent from P41 billion in the same period last year. On the other hand, production volumes fell by 24.7 percent to 5,850 kilos from 7,769 kilos.

The MGB also reported that the value of nickel direct shipping ore surged by 52.4 percent from P7.01 billion in the same period in 2025.

The country produced 4.58 million dry metric tons (DMT) of nickel direct shipping ore in the first quarter, up by 59.7 percent from 2.87 million a year ago.

Data showed that the value of production for nickel-cobalt mixed sulfide rose by 22.1 percent from January to March amounting to P10.13 billion, from P8.3 billion. Total output fell by 8.3 percent to 16,711 DMT from 18,233 DMT.

The production of copper concentrate both declined in terms of volume and value during the period.

The production value of copper concentrate fell by 7.4 percent P6.36 billion, while total volumes dropped by 19.4 percent to 47,920 DMT.

Mining industry group the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) attributed the increase in the country’s overall production value to stronger prices for gold, silver, copper and nickel.

“Even though production volumes dipped for a few commodities, the strong market more than made up for it, pushing overall value way up,” COMP president Michael Toledo told The STAR.

He added that the lower output in the first quarter is not a “cause for concern” as it is mainly due to planned maintenance, shifting ore grades and typical weather delays.

Toledo said that the industry is keeping a close eye on rising fuel and power costs, which could squeeze the margins of mining firms.

“We expect most producers to keep their footing or even ramp things up as long as market conditions cooperate and regulatory policies stay stable and predictable,” he added.