DMCI Mining to ship 1.5 million wet metric tons of nickel ore this year

MANILA, Philippines — DMCI Mining Corp. of the Consunji Group aims to ship 1.5 million wet metric tons (WMT) of nickel ore this year.

This comes after its subsidiary Zambales Diversified Metals Corp. successfully obtained an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) in January to produce two million WMT of nickel ore.

DMCI Mining president Tulsi Das Reyes said the company is now targeting to produce up to two millions tons of nickel ore this year.

“We have the necessary facilities and mitigating measures to minimize the impact of our operations on the environment. With these in place, we’re targeting to produce anywhere between 1.7 million to 2 million tons of nickel ore this year,” Reyes said.

Prior to the ECC issuance, ZDMC was only allowed to extract one million WMT.

From January to March, ZDMC’s nickel ore production increased to 599,000 WMT, its highest-ever quarterly output from 318,000 WMT or an increase of 88 percent.

This led to a 16 percent improvement in total inventory to 178,000 WMT.

However, total shipment declined by 21 percent to 487,000 WMT due to the depletion of the BNC mine and stockpile, cushioned by the double-digit growth of ZDMC shipment.

Average selling price increased by 11 percent to $49 owing to higher Zambales shipments of higher-grade nickel ore.

Despite the mine and stockpile depletion of Berong, standalone revenues of DMCI Mining declined by eight percent to P1.3 billion due to better selling prices.

Reported net income, meanwhile, contracted by 15 percent to P463 million.

Incorporated in 2007, DMCI Mining is in the business of mining, buying, shipping and transporting, all kinds of ores, metals and minerals. It involves surface mining and direct shipping of nickel ore and is conducted through simple benching operation using excavators and trucks in Sta. Cruz and Candelaria, Zambales.