From colonialism to neoliberalism: Critical reflections on Philippine mining in the “long twentieth century”

• Undertakes a critical historical reappraisal of mining in the Philippines since 1900.
• Draws on original historical sources to critically examine the performance of mining in the Philippines during the US colonial period.
• Uses findings from in-depth interviews with industry leaders to explore the performance of mining in the current era of neoliberalism.
• Explores how long-term trends of historical capitalism in the country have impacted mining.

Through an analysis of archival data and findings from interviews with industry leaders, I explore the genesis, rise, and fall of the various Philippine mineral regimes of the twentieth century. Specifically, I examine the background of successive and overlapping colonial and neocolonial powers in three eras: late colonial (1901–1941), national developmental (1945–1964), and state authoritarianism (1965–1985). I also briefly examine the current neoliberal mineral regime (1986–present). I argue that, to date, capitalist enterprises and neocolonial powers have pursued two contradictory paths to extract precious (gold and silver) and base (chromite, iron, copper, nickel, magnesium, and ore) metals in the Philippines. On the one hand, mining companies appropriated expansive land, underpriced labor and inexpensive food to subsidize capital expenditure and mineral operations. The appropriation of basic inputs – or what is referred to as “cheap natures” – allowed these companies to reduce their sunken investments and operational costs. But on the other hand, as the sector developed more, it became increasingly difficult to appropriate such “cheap natures.” While initially profitable because of successful appropriation of “cheap natures,” companies eventually experienced decreasing returns because of the problems this caused.