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Manila: Communist guerrillas burned equipment and stole firearms in a large gold mine in the southern Philippines on Thursday, a belated military report said on Friday.
About 50 members of the communist New Peoples Army (NPA) hogtied security personnel before destroying several mine equipment at the Masara mine in Maco town on Mindanao late on Thursday, the report said.
The communist rebels fled with 40 firearms and four radio transceivers, according to eyewitnesses. However, the military report said only nine guns were stolen from the mine site.
Masara mine, a 35-year old site, is jointly operated by Norway's Crew Minerals and the Apex Mining Corp, a local firm. The Masara mine has been expanding its operation by building a processing plant in the south, company sources said. Masara gold mine is estimated to have ore reserves of nearly 1.5 million tonnes, same industry sources said. On Friday, the military deployed Army men to look for land mines that might have been left by the fleeing NPA members
It is not known if NPA members or security personnel at the mine site were killed in the clash, reports said. The NPA has been involved in extortion activities, said the military, adding that attacks were made on firms that refuse to pay "revolutionary taxes".
The military stepped up security at mines across the country as the NPA rebels attacked the sites of copper mine run by a Swiss firm in December.
- With inputs from Rafael Juan
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