Philippines

Total: 2020 data from AGC apprears plausible → 400,000
Min/max: Same as above → 300,000 - 500,000
Female participation: According to https://www.planetgold.org/recognizing-womens-contributions-and-challenges-philippine-small-scale-miningthe percentage of women working at ASGM sites ranges from 10% to 30% of the workforce”. Assuming 20% → 80,000
Gold: All data presumingly for ASGM → 400,000

2020: 400,000

AGC Blog https://www.artisanalgold.org/2020/04/philippines-protecting-the-artisanal-mining-sector-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/

With an estimated 300,000-500,000 miners operating in more than thirty provinces across the country2, the Philippines is one of the more significant artisanal gold producers worldwide. According to the official records of the Philippines Central Bank, artisanal producers in 2018 generated just under US$14 million worth of gold, or about 350kg. Given that many artisanal producers in the Philippines work informally, the real figure is certainly much higher. In total in 2018, the  Philippines generated 36.8 tons of gold1, worth about $1.5 billion at world prices. With the advent of COVID-19, the 2020 production figures are likely to drop sharply, and the selling price already has dropped significantly, so miners and their families are already seeing an income cut.

2018: 325,000

(IGF-18): 325,000 (300,000 - 350,000)

2014: 366,000

(UBC-14): Gold-only data produced by statistic modelling:

Expected ASM population: 366,000 
Estimated ASM gold production: 28 t/a

2013: 242,000

(IIED-13): 185,400 – 300,000

2003: 185,000

(MMSD-03): Estimate for MMSD research country: 185,000
MMSD study by E.Bugnosen (http://pubs.iied.org/pdfs/G00732.pdf)

1999: 200,000

(ILO-99): Employment: 200,000
Number of mines: 700
Illegal mines: +/- 80%

ReferenceYearCitationArchived CopyLink
ILO-991999Jennings, N. (1999): Social and labour issues in small-scale mines. Report for discussion at the Tripartite Meeting on Social and Labour Issues in Small-scale Mines. ILO, Geneva.ilo-99.pdfilo.org/…
MMSD-032003Hentschel, T., Hruschka, F., Priester, M. (2003): Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining - Challenges and Opportunities. MMSD (IIED), London.mmsd-03.pdfpubs.iied.org/…
IIED-132013Buxton, A. (2013): Responding to the challenge of artisanal and small-scale mining. How can knowledge networks help? IIED, London.iied-13.pdfpubs.iied.org/…
UBC-142014Seccatore, J., Veiga, M., et al. (Univ. of British Columbia - UBC) (2014): An estimation of the artisanal small-scale production of gold in the world. Scitotenv. 496.ubc-14.pdfdoi.org/…
ARM-182018Barreto, M.L.,Schein, P., Hinton, J., Hruschka, F. (2018): The Impact of Small-Scale Mining Operations on Economies and Livelihoods in Low- to Middle-Income Countries. ARM, Envigado, PACT, Westcombe.arm-18.pdfresponsiblemines.org/…
IGF-182018IGF (2018): Global Trends in Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM): A review of key numbers and issues. IIED/IISD, London, Winnipeg.igf-18.pdfiisd.org/…
GMA-182018UNEP (2018): Global Mercury Assessment 2018. Technical Background Report E-Annex. Chapter 3.2. UNEP, Geneva.gma-18.pdfwedocs.unep.org/…
ASM DATA - Country Database Record
Country CodePHL
CountryPhilippines
ASM StatusExisting (data assessed)
Country Count1
Data year2020
Publ. year2020
ASM Miners400,000
- gold400 ,000
Data curation as reported
Inc. DevMinno
- min.300,000
- max.500,000
- female80 ,000
ASM Commoditiesgold
  • country/philippines.txt
  • Last modified: 2022/10/27
  • by Felix Hruschka