quarrying

Despite gaining international recognition for its reforestation efforts in the fight against climate change, the reserve is under pressure from illegal loggers, land grabbers, and quarrying companies.

But the department plays a dual role in the Philippines, which critics say is contradictory: it issues mining and quarrying permits, while also employing hundreds of forest rangers to protect the Sierra Madre, the country’s longest mountain range.

Jack Darbyshire grew up in the quarrying town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, watching a community awash with poverty as the slate industry slowly collapsed after World War One.

“Unlike other quarrying sites that have been operating unlawfully to supply the Mayan Train, our operations were duly permitted,” the company said.

The ruins of five structures were uncovered, along with walkways and fencing, but the original settlement was likely twice as big -- half the site was removed by 20th century quarrying -- with researchers saying it may have held up to sixty occupants in family units.