RMS chart and discussion - 1 Jan 2018, page-10

You've also got to consider the risk of terrorism. Mindanao is basically a no go zone that has been the subject of martial law which is continuing until at least Dec 2018. You can read about these risks here

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/Philippines

There is also a current warning in respect of bad weather across the central and southern Philippines which can effect mining operations. More so with open pit operations though. RED, a company that has been the subject of discussions on the RMS threads, is a good example of a mining operation in the Philippines plagued by bad weather and resultant long government shutdowns orders placed on the mine. If you are unlucky, big tropical cyclones have the potential to disrupt operations in this part of the world.

MML's operational bottlenecks might be getting solved but the broader risks are still high. To high for me no matter the potential rewards.

On a risk reward basis I prefer PRU for the mid-term, although I'm not a shareholder. PRU has a big resource base and is well leveraged to the gold price. Esh