AGBALBALITOK (The Gold Prospector) A Documentary by Ferdinand John Balanag SYNOPSIS Since the dawn of civilization, man has been captivated by gold. Centuries before the conquistadors and great explorers of the Old World set sail in search of gold, silver and spices, the original settlers of Itogon – the Ibalois and the Kankana-eys – panned gold from the rivers and streams flowing down its verdant slopes. This idyll was broken with the arrival of the American prospectors in Benguet, marking the first gold rush in Itogon. Gold exploration in the mountains of Benguet peaked with the establishment of some of the world’s biggest mining corporations, behemoths that relentlessly tunneled into the mountains – blasting, hauling, crushing and refining gold ore – till all the viable deposits were depleted. Only then did the mining frenzy end as these giants shut down, but only for a moment. The meteoric rise in the price of gold has spawned a 21st century gold rush in the abandoned mines of Itogon as leftover low-grade deposits become big business once more. In the mad scramble to extract more and more from the almost exhausted supply, big mining corporations clash with indigenous peoples and tens of thousands of migrant small-scale miners over control of the land and its resources. It is in these turbulent times that we find John Ray, a young Ibaloi miner trying to support his growing family, making difficult choices. Driven by the hope of striking it rich and the desperation of living hand to mouth, John Ray makes an offering to the benevolent and generous god of gold, Balitok, just as his forefathers have done before him. When he finds a promising vein, however, the traditional miner decides to shun the old ways of mining gold and run the mine differently, using modern mining methods that are more aggressive, and far more destructive. As he goes through great lengths to mine this precious metal, he soon realizes the true price of gold and who really pays for it. It is through his eyes and the eyes of those around him that we shall see the dark, underground world of the gold prospector, and the light at the end of the tunnel. (Jay Sarfati)
Posted on: Sun, 24 Aug 2014 02:51:03 +0000
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