IntroductionAccording to the Philippines' largest company, Philex Mining Corporation, there is life in In its advertising campaign, the company tells the public that it values the environment and through responsible mining (Hilomen- Velasco, 2011). For indigenous peoples, however, who belong to the most marginalised and vulnerable sectors of society, large-scale often leads to the loss of their lands and thus poses a serious threat to their livelihoods. About 60 percent of operations in the Philippines take place in ancestral domains2 and often without the consent of the affected communities, which fall victim to displacement and numerous human rights violations, such as arbitrary detention, persecution, killings of community representatives, demolition of houses, destruction of property, rape, and forced recruitment (Brawner Baguilat, 2011). These abuses occur in an environment of impunity, as perpetrators - state as well as private armed forces - are usually not held responsible.Mining affects the strong cultural ties of indigenous communities and leads to the loss of their culture and identity (Brawner Baguilat, 2011). The following paper will look at impacts of on indigenous communities in two selected areas: Abra Province in northern Luzon and the Tampakan Mining Project in Mindanao in the south of the Philippines. It will not limit its focus to large-scale mining, but also include small-scale mining. Primary data on the two cases was collected during a study tour3 on and human rights in the Philippines, the purpose of which was to gain insight into different challenges connected with in the Philippines. Visits to the affected areas were the main component of the tour where open group discussions with community leaders and members took place. Round table discussions with local NGOs and individual interviews with government officials provided additional information. For the following article, the collected primary data was complemented and updated by secondary sources, such as newspaper articles. The selected cases are only two examples of numerous similar experiences in other areas of ancestral domains in the Philippines. They show the divisive effects of on communities where positions vary between those who strongly oppose and those who hope to benefit from it. The situation raises questions about the future of ancestral domains, including indigenous peoples' cultural heritage and natural resources.Mining in the PhilippinesThe Philippines is said to host one of the world's biggest deposits of undiscovered minerals, especially of gold and copper (Herrera, 2012). Mineral reserves are estimated at about 7.1 billion tonnes of 13 known metallic and 51 billion tonnes of 29 nonmetallic minerals, many of which are located in areas of rich biodiversity and within ancestral domains of indigenous peoples (Alyansa Tigil Mina [ATM], 2011a, p. 5). With the enactment of the Mining Act of 1995 (Republic Act 7942), the Philippines liberalised its policy and opened both public and private lands, including protected areas, to foreign investments (ATM, 2011a, p. 7). For 2012, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) expects USD 2.27 billion of foreign investment in (Herrera, 2012).In addition to the Mining Act, Executive Order 270-A of 2004 promoted as a priority industry in the country (Brawner Baguilat, 2011), which, according to NGOs, marked a policy shiftfrom tolerance to aggressive promotion of large-scale min- ing. Between 2004 and 2011, 32 projects were pipelined and more than 2,000 applications for contracts and exploration permits were filed (ATM, 2011b, p. 3).Despite this aggressive promotion of the industry, investments stayed below the government's initial target and the industry only accounted for about one percent of the annual GDP (ATM 2011a, p. …