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22 May 1792

I arrived on the 22nd in Mambulao, the famous mining camp situated on an elevated terrain in a cove with a narrow beach gouged with gullies. The population is quite considerable. Most live in tents. The mines are 1/4 league from the beach. They are generally productive though not of the best quality. The ore is milled, and afterwards, the gold is extracted by the placer method. In place of cryolite, they use for smelting a certain kind of shells that perfectly fulfills this purpose to separate heterogeneous matter. They are mixed with the bark of the tree called gogo as a fixative. They say with assurance that without this ingredient, it could not be done notwithstanding the richness of these mines. It has been a long time that the Spaniards do not devote themselves to this processing, which they have completely left to the Indio-Chinese mestizos. The capital costs of these enterprises and the continuous lawsuits that repeatedly arise are the two invincible obstacles for the progress of this industry.

The adjoining mountains are full of excellent timber that will facilitate various enterprises and the temperament of the natives will accustom them to every kind of labor.