Finding gold in the Philippines

Mine owner Gil Mercado, 70, uses a pocket calculator to check the value of his most recent batch of harvested gold. He sells the gold for less than $30 per gram, well below market value.

Gold mining is the primary source of income for residents of Pinut-An, surpassing fishing as the leading form of employment.

All photos taken from April 22-23, 2014.

Pinut-an, Philippines

Mercado prepares his scales to weigh his latest batch of processed gold.

An average gold miner earns roughly $180 per month for working seven days a week, while the mine owner can expect to earn up to ten times that amount. Once the gold has been harvested and milled, it is delivered to buyers on the neighbouring island of Mindanao before being sold overseas or in Manila's gold markets.

Pinut-an, Philippines

Gold miners use a sledgehammer to free raw ore from the tunnel walls before hauling it to processing stations on the surface.

Pinut-an, Philippines

A miner works to free a section of rock from the tunnel wall using a hammer and chisel. The miners of Pinut-An use primitive tools and don't have access to modern machinery.

Pinut-an, Philippines

Gold miners look up as debris falls from the tunnel ceiling. Lacking modern machinery, the tunnels adhere to no standards of construction and the miners rely on their experience to avoid being caught in a tunnel collapse.

Pinut-an, Philippines

A gold miner tests the weight of a sack full of raw ore before carrying it to a processing station on the surface.

Pinut-an, Philippines

Sledge hammers and anvil stones are used to break large rock fragments into more manageable pieces, before being transported to nearby milling stations.

Pinut-an, Philippines

Gold miners inspect crushed rock dust to see if they have found a particularly lucrative seam.

Pinut-an, Philippines

A miner checks his cell-phone during the midday break from work.

Pinut-an, Philippines

A 14-year-old miner enters a dark tunnel after taking a short break.

Pinut-an, Philippines

Workers rinse recently excavated rock fragments. Valueless fragments will be discarded, while pieces containing gold are collected in a sack for transport to a nearby mill station.

Pinut-an, Philippines

A miner crushes rock fragments into smaller, more manageable pieces, using a sledgehammer and an anvil stone.

Pinut-an, Philippines

The mine owner heats a lump of gold using a blowtorch.

Pinut-an, Philippines

A mill worker swirls crushed rocks around a wooden pan. If done correctly, the heavier gold dust will settle in the center of the pan, partially separating it from the valueless rock particles.

Pinut-an, Philippines

Mill workers change textured pads that catch gold particles as they are rinsed from crushed rocks.

Pinut-an, Philippines

Mill workers run water over crushed rock dust, pointing out gold particles.

Pinut-an, Philippines

Gold miners wash their muddy hands in the drip-water falling from the ceiling of an active tunnel. Water continuously leaks through the cracked stone walls of the tunnels and the miners are soaked all day.

Pinut-an, Philippines

Mercado weighs his most recent batch of harvested gold.

Pinut-an, Philippines

A miner takes a bucket-shower at the end of a day of digging.

Pinut-an, Philippines

Miners check themselves for mud after showering during their mid day break.

Pinut-an, Philippines

A 14-year-old gold miner styles his hair at the end of a day of mining.

Pinut-an, Philippines

Gold miners and their family eat dinner together in a small house built near their mountainside camp. Many miners have homes in the nearby village of Pinut-An, but stay in the mountain camp to be closer to their tunnel.

Pinut-an, Philippines

A 14-year old miner throws his t-shirt towards the shore after washing himself in the Pacific Ocean.