00:28In the next video, we will see you in the next video.
00:45Panaon Island in the Philippines, home to Pinot and Barangay, the Philippines' underwater
00:52to Klondike. Divers here find gold beneath the waves, just off the coast. This is Severina
01:16Mahar. Just like all the others, he came to Pinotan to make his fortune. And while he's
01:29doing so, Severina tells us how things work around here.
01:54The first people to find gold here were the Spanish, as early as the 18th century. But
02:01within a hundred years, a landslide got in the way. In the 20th century, Americans came,
02:09but were swept away by a typhoon. For decades, big corporations have kept selling the mine
02:16on, but eventually were driven out by low margins. And once they'd all gone, the gold drivers
02:29moved in.
02:30The problem with the works carried out here is that the gold divers cripple coastal integrity.
02:49They dig tunnels and bring sand and gravel from the bottom to the shore, and that causes
02:55landslides and floods.
03:02Doon sa ilalim ng dagat, mahirap pagka, masisira ang mga halimbawa, compressor at
03:10makina dahil wala ka ng hangin doon sa ilalim. Maghirap ka ng pag…
03:19Sira ang makina at sa compressor walang masisira, okey lang magawa doon sa ilalim ng dagat.
03:3919th century placer mining looked much as it does now.
03:43The air was pumped by people rather than generators and they didn't have diving suits.
03:49Other than that, it's almost the same.
03:58This is where the gravel was delivered.
04:18Severino's wife Rosalita picks through the sand on the shore to find gold.
04:21her method may be less productive but it's not as dependent on the weather
04:51we need to use it, we need to use it
04:53we need to use it
04:58if it's a good year, not like now
05:01there are typhoons
05:03one day, we received 500 pesos
05:08a day
05:09when we have typhoon
05:12like a few days
05:14it's too late
05:15and hard to use it
05:18we don't have to use it
05:22yung dati naming bahay
05:24tapos nasira na
05:26nagwinta na kami ng dalawang taan
05:30nung may bagyo
05:32yung malubog yung
05:34dagat
05:36isang linggo rin yun, walang trabaho
05:38di rin, walang
05:40wala kasi ang nasahan eh
05:44dito sa entire
05:46pinutaan, meron na ngayon
05:48mahirap maglakan, dahil
05:50nagdadaib na ang nagiginto
05:53bigla kasi siyang humaon
05:55nasira ang makina
05:57ay wala nang mahinga siyang hangin doon
06:00bigla siyang haon
06:01na yan ang dahilan na
06:03nakasira sa kanyang katawan
06:04na mahirap na siya ngayon
06:07maglakad
06:09sevarino's talking about
06:11the bends
06:12or decompression sickness
06:15air contains nitrogen that the human body can't absorb
06:20we all have nitrogen
06:21in our bodies
06:22but in a harmless dissolved state
06:25if pressure falls too rapidly
06:27when coming up too quickly from a dive
06:29for example
06:30the gas forms bubbles in the blood
06:32which some say starts to boil
06:35a badly calculated ascent
06:38can lead to severe
06:39paralysis
06:41and sometimes even death
06:49in the middle of the
06:51the
06:51the
06:51the
06:51the
06:51the
06:54the
06:55the
06:55the
06:58the
06:58the
06:59the
06:59the
06:59the
07:00the
07:14the
07:16the
07:17the
07:17the
07:18the
07:20they got them there. They did them. They came back to the river.
07:25They're not there, they got them at the end. They got them all.
07:32They got them to come back to them. They helped us to take a nap.
07:37And it was a thing to go down from the river.
08:04Adolfo Villaren is the Pinot-Anne-Baringay captain.
08:07It's an administrative position, a sort of district head.
08:12The captain is one of the buyers of the divers gold.
08:15The problem is, this kind of mining by individuals is forbidden, but there are workarounds.
08:23Commercial placer operations are permitted, so prospectors form cartels to look like
08:29a big company in the eyes of the law.
08:33The captain thinks it's better to buy the gold, rather than constantly send the police
08:38to drive the diggers away.
08:56This classic gold extraction method uses mercury.
09:00It's called pan amalgamation.
09:05After taking out the stones by panning, they add mercury to the sand and mix them together.
09:13When combined, mercury and gold attract.
09:17Liquid mercury is not as dangerous as its vapor form, but it is advisable to use protection,
09:22of course.
09:23The mercury-gold mixture is called amalgam.
09:28Now you need to pressurize the mercury and boil the rest away.
09:37Remember the liquid terminator in Judgment Day?
09:41In reality, it would have had to be under constant pressure to express other particles to avoid
09:47becoming an amalgam.
09:49Now this part of the process is quite hazardous, so a gas mask is essential.
10:22The
10:23400, 400.
10:25That's the one.
10:31If they can get a piece of piece,
10:33you can buy it to them.
10:35The only thing you can buy is the price.
10:38You can buy it to them 1,400,
10:41you can buy it to the Surigao of 1,800.
10:44So, every gram, more or less,
10:47400, you can buy it.
10:49You can buy it.
10:49You can buy it there.
10:53There, in Mindanao,
10:55I have a husband who is not working here.
10:59Because my partner here,
11:01I just want to be married.
11:03We are not married here.
11:04We have two children here.
11:12So, how much does the captain pay for Rosalita's find?
11:17Oh, we are already here.
11:22It's close to the camera.
11:26250 milligrams, Roman.
11:29How much is it?
11:31250.
11:34250 pesos.
11:36I paid for 30 million.
11:38I paid for 30 million.
11:40I paid for 30 million.
11:44I paid for 30 million a half.
11:48How much is it?
11:49I paid for 30 million a half.
11:53Also, I paid for 30 million a half.
11:53There, Severino and his wife have become rich.
11:58I paid for 30 million a half,
12:01and I paid for 30 million a half.
12:05Just $3.
12:06Now they could spend the money.
12:07So, what can you get for $7?
12:10$3.00
13:02The prospectors are imprisoned by the gold.
13:06They earn just enough to keep themselves alive.
13:11The luckiest might even manage to save just enough for their children's education, so
13:18that one day, maybe their kids can escape.
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