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Panagsayo: mining the indigenous way

BAGUIO CITY ( Mar. 16) — Sayo is the indigenous way of extracting gold particles along the river banks. This is practiced by several Cordillera communities up to present. It was also widely practiced even before the coming of the Spaniards. Small-scale mining fueled the economic needs of many indigenous communities.

In an interview with Pastor Vergel Aniceto, 47, from Ucab, Itogon, Benguet, he said that small- scale miners in Itogon practiced small-scale mining as one of their main sources of income. Aniceto is a founding member of the Itogon Inter Barangay Alliance (IIB-A)

Historically, agriculture is primary source of income. Mining then was an supplement to the income from agriculture. Extracted gold was used to produce jewelry and kitchenware.

Pine tree barks were then used to catch the gold in the panning process. Present goldpanners relate that with large-scale mining and siltation, gold extracts have become scarce.

Gold panning communities bartered their goods with lowlands products, and other farming needs such as cows and carabaos. Needs unavailable in the highlands were also accessed through bartering their gold products.

In the 1900s, foreign mining firms entered Benguet and since then dominated the extraction of mineral resources in the region. Mining prospectors used to consult gold panners along the Antamok and Batuang rivers in Itogon. Now, large scale mining operations have depleted mineral resources.

In 1950s the Ambuclao dam was built, which polluted and submerged the Agno River which is one of the major rivers where Benguet and Pangasinan peasants pan for gold in Benguet.

“Big (mining) companies have taken much in Itogon but there are no developments in our place, they have left us empty. Poor people become poorer because even their sources of livelihood are disappearing,” Alfredo Aglasi, an Itogon local, laments.

“What will be the future of the next generations in this kind of situation?” he added.

Aniceto claims that, because of the operations of big mining companies and large dams in Benguet and other provinces in the Cordillera, many small-scale miners like those who pan for gold were displaced and forced to go to other places to look for odd jobs. Because of large-scale mining and dams, riverbeds are covered with silt that destroyed the river, which is a major source of livelihood. What is worse is that small-scale miners are competing on the limited area left for panning and this usually leads to misunderstanding among the residents.

Aniceto also said that because of the economic crisis besetting our country today, gold panning became a major source of livelihood especially those near the riverbanks. Gold panning has transformed into an activity that gives people instant cash due to the high price of gold in the market.

Many residents of barangay Dalupirip, Ampucao, Tinongdan, Itogon, Poblacion and Virac practice goldpanning along the river. There are over 600 residents regularly panning for gold in Itogon town, excluding those who are engaged in it as secondary job who usually accumulate 6 to 8 grams of gold weekly.

During 1950’s to 1970’s, one gram of gold is only P15 to P35, 1980’s is P60 to P85,early 1990’s is P100 to P150 until late 90’s up to 2002, the value of one gram is P250 to P350. Then 2003 up to the present is P500 to 750 depending on the karats, he added.

Aniceto shares that a good location for gold panning is where the river bends. Trees’ roots are also a good spot for gold panning, he said. Along stone walls canals, gold panners place the sluicing box or the gutter box (salulog), a cordoroy cloth or jute sack to trap the gold particles.

“Scratch the river sand gently where you built the canal to trap more gold particles,” Aniceto explains, “every 30 minutes, wash the cloth slowly into the basin with water to gather the trapped particles.” But some gold panners by elevate the sluicing box as high as the waistline then gather the sand from the river and let it flow in to the box through the use of a hosed water.

After all the particles are put in the basin, the final separation of the gold particles is done. This is called the dayas. Panners use the sabak or a rectangular metal box to pan the gold using gravity separation. The gold bearing particles are moved to the lower portion of the box while the tailings called linang are removed but they are saved for reprocessing later. The gold particles are collected in a porcelain bowl contained with water called labunan then lastly, remove the water from the labunan then wrap the gold particles with cellophane or a piece of manila paper ready to be cooked, he explained.

Old people who usually cook the gold prepare a charcoal stove, the air blower and a clay bowl. The blower is used to maintain the high temperature from live coals while the clay bowl is needed to contain the gold for cooking. After the bowl gets warm, the borax, a chemical used to clean the gold and separate other particles first to clean the bowl before placing the gold, is placed. When the gold boils, borax is added again to separate other impurities.

Usually, the cooking takes 30 minutes to one hour, depending on the volume. To produce 24 karats which is pure gold, cooking it many times is necessary but the volume of the gold will become smaller. Itogon is producing 14 to 18 karats of gold. # Johnny Fialen for NORDIS

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