ABSTRACT
Philex Mining Corporation (PMC) began operating its Padcal mine in 1958. The mine will be closing in 2022. Philex is the occupational community that evolved with the operation of the company as workers arrived in Padcal beginning the 1960s through the 1980s bringing with them their families. As a minesite camp, Philex is physically and socially organised in such a way that working and living are aimed at ensuring a productive and profitable mine. Through various fringe benefits, the company has nurtured its occupational community. Reciprocally, the latter has provided a stable and loyal workforce to the company. The relationship between the two is symbiotic and so intimate such that when Philex residents learned in 2004 about the Padcal mine’s imminent closure, their reaction was one of denial. The residents have gradually, albeit painfully, accepted a not-so-distant future for themselves that will be outside the nurturing wings of PMC. Slowly, PMC has been reducing its manpower with many residents opting to leave the workforce voluntarily as the company offered generous severance payments. The company’s final mine rehabilitation and decommissioning plan includes strategies to deal with residents who may choose to stay in Philex after the mine closes.
