No one is posting here but maybe good to get out some general impressions of Phils mining environment after living here for 5 years.

Phils impresses me as more prospective than Venezuela, Bolivia, Democratic Rep of Congo and a few others... even Canada has the Native American trump card waiting on final mine approvals....and the aggressive Cdn mining unions.

Here it is the NPA...New People's Army literally attacking drills and mine staff...a drill was once "burned"...and some other local politics that is hostile

In July 2008 it was just reported that half of the Philippine army was being deployed to East Mindanao to fight the NPA.... PGI territory.

I have met one NPA on a trip to Palawan. He was very likable and charming...but later drinking, told my friend he would like to go to USA and 'assasinate some of the big wigs'

Many people here supposedly have NPA relatives and friends.The head of security in my building included...The situation generally doesn't seem so aggressive and nuts......But very serious attacks are made...robbing of guns & money, blowing things up. (If you come her and get a cell phone, be advised NPA blows up the GLOBE towers not SMART or the others. SMART has not used the NPA for a TV endorser yet..ha ha)

I expect some of this will subside and not just from the Phil military presence. Many mining companies are flooding money into the country now.

One example is Crew (CRU), presently very unpopular in Mindoro (a different area than Mindanao) where huge protests have prompted a visit by a Scandinavian ambassador whre CREW has a stock listing. Crew has shown great generosity in Africa, giving big money to the communities for schools hospitals etc..Many int'l mining companies are willing to do this.....When the US military showed similar generosity in Abu Sayaaf territory in Sulu, it greatly diminished the popularity of the rebels..and made the general population love USA...to the point of tears when they left...