The country’s total gold reserves in 2018 slightly rose to 4.89 million kilograms, from 4.85 million kg in 2013, on the back of higher reappraisals, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
“This increase is mainly attributed to reappraisals recorded during the period, with a net total of more than 130,000 kg,” it said in its report on Thursday.
The PSA defines reappraisals as changes in the “measured stock of assets due to the use of updated information that permits a reassessment of the size of the stock.”
PSA data showed that from 2013 to 2018, gold upward reappraisals reached 147,445.15 kilograms as against a six-year downward reappraisal of 12,572.154 kilograms.
In 2018 alone, gold reserves had an upward reappraisal of 27,356 kilograms versus a 5-kilogram downward reappraisal, PSA data showed.
PSA data showed that more than half, or about 62.8 percent, of the country’s gold reserves are Class C, which are minerals that are for non-commercial use and other known deposits.
PSA data also showed that about a fifth of the country’s gold reserves, or about 1.217 million kilograms, are Class B (potentially commercially recoverable resources), while the remaining 591,192 kilograms were Class A, which are commercially recoverable resources.
The average gold extraction, or production, from 2016 to 2018 was close to 20,000 kilograms, PSA data showed.
The country’s total nickel reserves in 2018 increased by 1.5 percent to a six-year high of 2.05 billion metric tons from 2.02 billion MT in 2013, based on PSA data.
“This increase is mainly attributed to reappraisals recorded during the period, with a net total of more than 158 million MT,” it said.
“Nickel extraction was stable during the period, ranging from 25 to 35 million MT, with the highest recorded in 2014,” it added.
About 51.5 percent, or around 1.027 billion MT of the country’s nickel reserves, were Class C, while 929.322 million were classified as Class A, according to PSA. The remaining volume of 38.053 million were Class B nickel reserves, PSA data showed.
“Class A reserves, or the portion of the total reserves which is commercially recoverable, saw a decrease from 1.03 billion MT in 2013 to 0.95 billion MT in 2018,” it said.
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