Product Code Database
|) | government_type = | government_footnotes = | elevation_m = | elevation_max_m = 753 | elevation_min_m = 0 | elevation_max_rank = | elevation_min_rank = | elevation_footnotes = | elevation_max_footnotes = | elevation_min_footnotes = | area_rank = | area_footnotes = | area_total_km2 = | population_footnotes = | population_total = | population_as_of = | population_density_km2 = auto | population_blank1_title = | population_blank1 = | population_blank2_title = | population_blank2 = | population_demonym = | population_rank = | population_note = | timezone = PST | utc_offset = +8 | postal_code_type = ZIP code | postal_code = | postal2_code_type = | postal2_code = | area_code_type = | area_code = | website = | demographics_type1 = Economy | demographics1_title1 = | demographics1_info1 = | demographics1_title2 = Poverty incidence | demographics1_info2 = % () | demographics1_title3 = Revenue | demographics1_info3 = | demographics1_title4 = Revenue rank | demographics1_info4 = | demographics1_title5 = | demographics1_info5 = | demographics1_title6 = Assets rank | demographics1_info6 = | demographics1_title7 = IRA | demographics1_info7 = | demographics1_title8 = IRA rank | demographics1_info8 = | demographics1_title9 = Expenditure | demographics1_info9 = | demographics1_title10 = Liabilities | demographics1_info10 = | demographics_type2 = Service provider | demographics2_title1 = Electricity | demographics2_info1 = | demographics2_title2 = Water | demographics2_info2 = | demographics2_title3 = Telecommunications | demographics2_info3 = | demographics2_title4 = Cable TV | demographics2_info4 = | demographics2_title5 = | demographics2_info5 = | demographics2_title6 = | demographics2_info6 = | demographics2_title7 = | demographics2_info7 = | demographics2_title8 = | demographics2_info8 = | demographics2_title9 = | demographics2_info9 = | demographics2_title10 = | demographics2_info10 = | blank_name_sec1 = | blank_info_sec1 = | blank1_name_sec1 = Native languages | blank1_info_sec1 = | blank2_name_sec1 = Crime index | blank2_info_sec1 = | blank3_name_sec1 = | blank3_info_sec1 = | blank4_name_sec1 = | blank4_info_sec1 = | blank5_name_sec1 = | blank5_info_sec1 = | blank6_name_sec1 = | blank6_info_sec1 = | blank7_name_sec1 = | blank7_info_sec1 = | blank1_name_sec2 = Major religions | blank1_info_sec2 = | blank2_name_sec2 = Feast date | blank2_info_sec2 = | blank3_name_sec2 = Catholic diocese | blank3_info_sec2 = | blank4_name_sec2 = Patron saint | blank4_info_sec2 = | blank5_name_sec2 = | blank5_info_sec2 = | blank6_name_sec2 = | blank6_info_sec2 = | blank7_name_sec2 = | blank7_info_sec2 = | short_description = | footnotes = Paracale, officially the Municipality of Paracale (), is a municipality in the province of Camarines Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 60,198 people.
Paracle’s economy is driven by agriculture and small scale, often informal gold mining and gold ore processing. Rice, corn, coconut and root crops and vegetables are the major agricultural products. Being a coastal community with a number of historical sites and providing boat access to Calaguas it also has some claim as a tourist destination.
In 1863, Paracale was then formally established as a town. Seventeen years later, the Franciscans returned to Paracale to reestablish church administration.
Small scale mining in Camarines Norte pre dates the Spanish colonial period, but the region came to prominence in 1626 when a sizable gold deposit was identified close to the current location of Paracale town. Spaniards employed local labour to extract gold-bearing gravel from adjacent rivers and streams, although mining operations were described as intermittent, small in scale and rarely profitable due to frequent flooding, in 1688 it was recorded that miners in Paracale were paid three reals per week plus food for extraction of gold ore. (2025). 9780824861971, University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 9780824861971
During the period of American colonial rule dredges were used to mine alluvial gold deposits.
Artisanal mining for gold still persists in many locations adjacent to the town. An ILO report published in 2017 estimated that about half the population of the town were engaged in small scale mining activities either as a financier, mine worker, processor or independent gold panner. Compressor mining, a hazardous informal mining method where ore is extracted by divers in flooded, narrow shafts while breathing through an air tube connected to makeshift compressor, was banned in the Philippines in 2012. Nonetheless Parcale attracted significant attention in November 2013 when a collapse of informal mining operations on the beach led to the deaths of a number of compressor mining divers. In 2021, the Philippine National Police sought the closure of all illegal mining activities in Camarines Norte as the components of improvised explosive devices used by NPA terrorists were established as coming from illegal mining sites in the area.
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