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The Magic Beneath Mankayan’s Mountains: How Magma Built a Community

 📍 Mankayan, Benguet | Journal of Asian Earth Sciences (2023)


Written by: Adrian Fronda


Deep in the Cordilleras, in the town of Mankayan, Benguet, lies a landscape shaped by fire, crust, and time. Beneath its green slopes and cloud-kissed ridges, a geological process has been at work — shaping what would become both natural heritage and human opportunity.


A study published in 2023 by Dr. Kohei Naito and colleagues (Journal of Asian Earth Sciences) reveals that the Suyoc area of the Mankayan Mineral District has experienced multiple episodes of magma intrusion, each with different compositions and properties. Some magma intrusions were “barren”, meaning they carried relatively few economically valuable minerals; others were “fertile”, carrying copper and gold that later became part of the region’s mining history. 


These magma bodies cooled slowly underground to form igneous rocks with significant crystal growth, then were uplifted through tectonic activity. Over millions of years, erosion exposed these rocks, revealing veins rich in metals. It is these geological features that make Mankayan one of the Philippines’ most important mining areas.


Human story: Locals have depended on these mineral deposits for generations. Mining in Mankayan has shaped its economy, identity, and landscape. The rugged terrain, roads carved through mountain slopes, and communities built around mining camps reflect the intimate connection between geology and human life.


Environmental and social trade-offs: While mineral wealth provides jobs and infrastructure, it also poses risks: habitat disturbance, pollution, and land alteration. Sustainable mining practices and environmental protection are crucial if Mankayan’s community is to continue benefiting from its rocky foundations.


 Conclusion: The story of Mankayan is not just about rocks. It’s about magma forging value beneath Earth’s crust, human ingenuity harnessing it, and the need to balance extraction with conservation.



📚 Source: Naito, K., et al. (2023). Multiple intrusions of barren and fertile magmas in a complex island arc system: Insights from igneous rocks in the Suyoc area, Southern Mankayan Mineral District, Philippines. Kyushu University / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences


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