Police said toxic gases killed Eugene Ansibey inside the tunnel that he and fellow small-scale miners had dug up in Didipio. Several villagers, using unregulated explosives for blasting, have died since illegal mining has proliferated there.
In September, a government-backed, multibillion-peso gold and copper project goes into full swing in the mountainous village.
Earlier, a task force led by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) was formed to go after illegal miners, mostly from nearby provinces, and dismantle the tunnels and other illegal structures they had put up in the area.
Engineer Jerrysal Mangaong, MGB regional director, said the illegal structures have to be dismantled to pave the way for the entry of Australasia-Philippines Mining Inc., the proponent of the gold and copper project.