Diving into the Philippines’ dangerous, underwater mines

Descending as deep as 40 feet, he breathes from a small diesel- powered air compressor on the surface, while blindly digging into the sides of a narrow tunnel. For hours at a time, he fills bags with mud and rock that a partner hauls to the surface, where the sediment is broken down and, using mercury, panned for gold.
According to Thomson Reuters, in 2012, the Philippines was the 18th largest producer of gold worldwide. Large companies are responsible for much of that, but there are also unofficial small-scale mines like these. Many lie in the poor coastal province of Camarines Norte, about 200 miles Southeast of Manila, where some of the country’s highest concentrations of the precious mineral can be found.
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