Rare mineral found in Puerto Princesa Underground River

MANILA, Philippines - The Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR) has scored a double victory by winning not only as a New 7 Wonders of Nature (N7WN) but also a source of a rare cave mineral.

Puerto Princesa City Mayor Edward Hagedorn yesterday said the mineral, which was brought to the Universities of Bologna and of Modena en Reggio Emilia for mineralogical analysis, led to the discovery of a completely new cave mineral – the serrabrancaite, a manganese phosphate.

The mayor said the victory of PPUR should be an occasion for celebration since it shows to all that “this nation can unite to promote its best interest, and winning in the N7WN is a collective triumph led by no less than President Aquino and supported by millions of citizens who heed our call to vote via text messages and online.”

Hagedorn said that while variscite is a well known cave mineral, serrabrancaite was never found before in caves and extremely rare elsewhere. He said 11 minerals have been found in PPUR, beating other caves worldwide for sheer wealth of minerals. Serabrancaite was only found once, in the pegmatities of Sierra Branca, Brazil, but its genesis is different from that of PPUR’s.

“PPUR is really blessed with nature’s bounty and worthy to have been part of making history,” Hagedorn said.

Geologist Pasolo Forti underscored the uniqueness of PPUR and said, it is the most interesting cave in the world from the point of view of geology and archaeology since it is also home to a 20 million-year-old fossil of a sea cow or dugong embedded on the limestone wall.

Hagedorn said PPUR’s victory was the product of collective effort and he expressed gratitude to the members of the PPUR Task Force headed by Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo as chairman; Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez, vice chairman; Environment Secretary Ramon Paje, national campaign manager; as well as the entire Filipino people for their whole-hearted support to win a place in the N7WN.

Robredo also cited local chief executives’ support to PPUR. “It is Filipino unity and patriotism at its best. It is not just the pride and joy of the people of Palawan but the entire country as well,” he said.