| 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 modem 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 PI 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, foulard-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. |
