Trivia about the Benguet Corporation
Benguet Corporation was incorporated on August 12, 1903 by two former American soldiers-mining prospectors and a soda fountain owner, who were among the many Americans who stayed in the Philippines after the Spanish-American War. The Company pioneered modern gold mining operation in the country and ushered the beginning of the Philippine mining industry. Benguet Corporation opened its first gold mine in 1906 in Antamok and in 1927 acquired and operated the gold mines in nearby Balatoc and Acupan, all located in the Benguet province. It has since expanded into refractory chromite operation in 1934 and copper production in 1971. Until the late 1980s, Benguet Corporation was known as the biggest gold mining company in the Philippines and 16th largest in the world. Similarly, its chromite operation in Masinloc, known internationally as “Masinloc Ore”, and its highly profitable Dizon Copper Gold operation in San Marcelino, Zambales were the largest in the country;
The dramatic and colorful 100-year history of Benguet Corporation reveals a dynamic organization with a distinct capability to overcome and survive extremely difficult conditions, such as World War II, countless natural disasters, political upheavals and cyclical economic turmoil. As a mining industry leader, it has produced over 14.1 million fine ounces of gold, 10.5 million ounces of silver, 776 million pounds of copper concentrates and 15.4 million tonnes of chromite with an aggregate value of US$ 7.5 Billion or nearly P400 Billion at current prices. This mineral production translates into employment of more than 23,000 people, at the height of its operations, with payroll and fringe benefits at an annual average of P1 Billion. With its liberal labor policy, the company provided its mining communities with free housing, water, power, medical services, elementary and subsidized high school education. The Company likewise spent some P2.6 Billion for environmental protection and P824 Million for community services. Government taxes and duties paid amounted to over P4.7 Billion.
From Benguet Consolidated Mining Company in the 1900s to Benguet Consolidated Inc. in the decades of the 1950s to 1970s, and finally to its present corporate name, Benguet Corporation, the Company looks with pride at its 100 years of achievement in Philippine mining history and national life. At the same time, it views the future with confident optimism – an operating, forward-looking mining company with new vision and strategic direction to be a total natural resource development conglomerate, armed with characteristically pioneering projects in water resource and land development and in engineering, construction and technical services, that will sustain its growth and viability into the next century.
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