Caraga

Caraga extends along Mindanao's northeastern coast—a region where mining operations extract nickel and gold while agricultural communities pursue livelihoods that extraction economy does not necessarily improve. The tension between mining revenue and environmental damage defines development debates that the region has not resolved.

Nickel mining has expanded significantly, with Philippine laterite deposits feeding global stainless steel production and, increasingly, battery supply chains for electric vehicles. Caraga hosts substantial operations that generate export revenue and employment while creating environmental concerns about watershed degradation and coastal pollution.

Surigao del Norte's surfing destination at Siargao has developed tourism that provides service sector alternative to extraction. The island's waves attract international visitors whose spending creates employment in hospitality and related services. This demonstrates how natural assets can generate sustainable income that mining's finite resources eventually exhaust.

Agricultural commodity production—coconut, rice, banana—provides rural livelihoods in zones not directly affected by mining operations. By 2026, expect continued mining expansion driven by battery metal demand, Siargao tourism growing as infrastructure improves, and tension between extraction and sustainability remaining unresolved in a region that needs both revenue streams.