Balatoc Mines Tour (Baguio-Benguet 2012)

Baguio-Benguet October 2012

1. Exploring Balatoc Mines

We freshen up in less than an hours I've advised my friends that it will be warmer when we go to Balatoc Mines in Benguet. Most of us were in shorts.

From Baguio down to Benguet took 30 mins travel via taxi and it's a long and winding road. Taxi fare was Php500.00 and we split it evenly between the 5 of us. That's Php100.00 each,

Note to self: Ask the taxi to wait for us so that we don't have to wait for the next vacant jeepney to take us back to Baguio. We went to Balatoc Mines on a weekend and most of the locals are travelling also.

We arrived earlier in Benguet Corporation's Balatoc Mines around 8:00AM Saturday morning. As the first group there, the musuem was opened to us and we were provided hard hats and boots.

 

The tour fee is Php250.00 per adult and Php150.00 per child.

 

 

That's Presley, me, Jerome and Ma-anne with the Benguet Corporation's homage to the miners.

 

We had a guide for the whole tour. We were given a walkthru on the history of the mines and the equipment they are still using.

 



 

Our guide, I looked at her ID but I forgot her name. Sorry, Ate.

 

We were walking towards the tunnel along train tracks.

 

Miners spends hours in their holes so a worker would be pushing the toilet car in their aside areas.

 

Fool's gold

 

Jayson and I inside the Vegas Tunnel of Balatoc Mines
 

 

 

Inside the mine

I was able to hold a working diamond drill. The machine was noisy but it was not that hard to do. The vibration from the machine is light. I had the assistance of the best miner of Balatoc mines by my side when I tried it.

We saw a big anaconda which is the miner's wind blower and like the diamond drill it created a loud sound.

This is the head of the "anaconda"

 

 





 

 

The boys holding on to the dynamite that is going to explode in a few moments.

 

The tour includes us experiencing a dynamite blast with the half stick of dynamite of the miner's is going to ignite. It was something I will never forget. It was over quickly but we were amazed with power of the blast.

 

 

 

The tunnel is filling up with smoke from the blast. We had to go out the way we came in.

 

 

Our group's photo after the tour.

 

Each of us was given our certificates proving we've completed the Balatoc Mines Tour.

 

 

It took us 40 minutes to almost an hour to get in a vacant jeepney. So if you're going to the mines in a taxi, ask kindly if your driver can wait for you.

 

The Balatoc Mines Tour concluded after an hour. Overall, we had fun with this activity.