MANILA – The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) reported Wednesday metallic mineral production value surged by 31.73 percent to PHP238.05 billion in 2022 from PHP180.71 billion the previous year.
The growth was achieved despite the twin impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
“We saw the pandemic slow down global economic activities and the Russia-Ukraine war affecting key markets, particularly energy markets such as oil and gas,” the MGB said in a statement.
“These unprecedented events have disrupted the supply and demand chain of major commodities. In terms of prices of metals copper and silver went down by 5.03% and 14.52%, respectively,” it added.
The recorded price of copper declined to USD4.00 per pound in 2022 from USD4.21 per pound the previous year, while that of silver also dropped to USD21.76 per troy ounce from USD25.45 per troy ounce.
Nickel price was still high in 2022 from USD8.35 per pound to USD11.86 per pound, an increase of USD3.51 per pound, year-on-year.
Gold price was up by USD1.90 from USD1,800.39 per troy ounce to USD1,802.28 per troy ounce year-on-year. (with reports from Perfecto Raymundo Jr., PNA)
