About the Philippines

The Philippines is an archipelago, which lies just north of the equator and 1,100 km from the coast of the southeastern Asia mainland. The chain of 7,107 islands stretches 1,850 km northward from Borneo to Taiwan, 1,000 km east-west at its widest point, and has a total land area of 300,000 sq. km.

There are two major islands: Luzon in the north, with an area of 105,000 square kilometers and containing the capital city of Manila (population 12 million), and Mindanao in the south with an area of 96,000 square kilometers. Together, they form almost 70% of the total land surface. A group of nine islands comprise most of the remaining area. The total population of the islands is approximately 70 million and the official language is Filipino, with English spoken widely as the language of the government and the business community.

The Republic of the Philippines is a constitutional democracy with a system of government similar to that of the United States. In 1986, the then President, Ferdinand E. Marcos, was overthrown and one year later a new constitution was ratified by the electorate.

The constitution provides for a presidential style of government with three separate and equal branches functioning independently under a system of checks and balances. A bicameral legislature is composed of the House of Representatives and the Senate, whose members are elected by direct popular vote for terms of three and six years respectively; the executive branch, headed by the President who is elected for a single six-year term by direct popular vote; and the Judiciary, which is headed by the Supreme Court. The members of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President.

Recently, the government, in an effort to revitalize the nation's economy, opened up the mining industry and market to foreign investments. The Philippine Mining Act of 1995 was also designed to decrease the risks of initial investment, increase mining exports and encourage joint venture agreements for exploration and production.

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Located in the Pacific "Ring of Fire", the Philippines is one of the most prolifically mineralized countries in the world, globally ranking third in gold resources, fourth in copper and fifth in nickel. Tremendous remaining potential for additional discoveries, since, despite it's vast mineral wealth, the Philippines has seen little modern exploration. The Philippines provides a natural gateway to other Asia Pacific economies, particularly China, with its voracious demand for metals. The Philippines has a stable and democratic government and a free market economy.	A change in government policy from tolerance of mining to active promotion with the issue of Executive Order No. 270, in January 2004, setting the National Policy Agenda on Revitalizing Mining in the Philippines. 100% foreign ownership allowed following the December 2004, Supreme Court decision abolishing all legal obstacles to the implementation of the Philippine Mining Act of 1995. The Philippines has an attractive structure of tax incentives and guarantees repatriation of the earnings and capital of foreign investors.

Mindoro and the Philippines

Having been actively exploring in the Philippines since 1996, Mindoro is now well-established in the region and has developed strong local skills and contacts. Two of our partners, Minimax Mineral Explorations and Egerton Gold, are also very well-connected there. Our President, Tony Climie, spends much of his time in the Philippines and one of our Directors, Peter Draper, is a full-time resident there. And another Director, Oscar Reyes, is a highly successful and influential Philippine businessman and the former managing director of Shell Philippines.

Public Companies in the Philippines

There is a tremendous amount of mining activity in the Philippines today. For your reference, we are providing below a list of Public Mining Companies exploring and developing mining assets in the region.

Company Name	Exchange	Symbol
Anglo American PLC	JSE (Johannesburg) LSE (London)	ANAAL AAL
Thistle Mining Inc.	AIM	TMG
Phelps Dodge Corp.	NYSE	PD
BHP Billiton	NYSE	BHP
Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd.	TSE (Tokyo)	5713
KORES (Korean Gov't Agency)	Korea	008340.KQ
China Non Ferrous Metal Mining Agency	Shenzhen	000758.SZ
TVI Pacific Inc.	TSX	TVI
Crew Gold Corp.	TSX-V	CRU
Mindoro Resources Ltd.	TSX-V	MIO
Panoro Minerals Ltd.	TSX-V	PML
Philix Gold Inc.	TSX-V	PGI
Sur American Gold Corp.	TSX-V	SUR
Levon Resources Ltd.	TSX-V	LVN
Goldminco Corp.	TSX-V	GCP
Altai Resources Inc.	TSX-V	ATI
MBMI Resources Inc.	TSX-V	MBR
Medusa Mining Ltd.	ASX	MML
BeMaX Resources NL	ASX	BMX
Lafayette Mining Ltd.	ASX	LAF
Climax Mining Ltd.	ASX	CMX
Indophil Resources NL	ASX	INR
Rusina Mining Ltd.	ASX	RML
Pelican Resources Ltd.	ASX	PEL
Benguet Corp.	OTC-BB	BENGB