Black sand mining

After the assassination of the mayor of Gonzaga, Cagayan, and various other news items regarding black sand mining in Northern Luzon, I would like to know what is the real score.

What I do know is that black sand mining has been going on since the 1960’s, at least in La Union.  They have probably mined out the unprotected beaches there by now  (those that do not have resorts or militant landowners nearby to oppose their destruction) and have since moved north, particularly Cagayan Province, even to the Ilocos, and as far south as Camarines Sur. Aside from turning beaches and their environs into industrial waste areas and preventing the beach to be enjoyed as a beach, black sand mining takes over public space privatizing it for obviously private gain.  At the end of black sand mining, the beach is stripped to bedrock which means it is no longer a beach with sand, foliage, or inviting swimming water.  This latter because the sand that is not black or magnetite-bearing (used for steel-making) is dumped every which way in rivers, and along the coastline creating an environmental mess that is also hostile for recreational use.