A recent report has revealed that mined metal production in the Phillipines increased by 39% in value last year, leading to an overall metal market value of P111.1 billion. Analysts believe increased metal prices and a focus on domestic output all contributed to the steep rise in value.

According to Business World Online “Gold accounted for 63% or P70.51 billion of the total production value in 2010, while nickel (21%) and copper (14%) contributed P22.99 billion and P15.78 billion to the metal mining industry respectively.”

The Mines and Geosciences Bureau examined a total of six gold mines, twelve nickel mines and three copper mines, plus a chromite mine, a nickel processing plant, a polymetallic processing plant, and various small-scale gold mining operations for the study. It will be interesting to see if the rise is temporary over the course of the coming year.