By VG Cabuag- June 4, 2019
DMCI Mining Corp. shipped 338,000
wet metric tons of nickel ore in the first quarter, more than double the
156,000 WMT it shipped during the same period last year.
All of the shipments came from
Berong Nickel Corp. in Palawan, as the operations of its other nickel asset,
Zambales Diversified Metals Corp., remains suspended by the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
Average nickel grade from January to
March declined from 1.7 percent to 1.59 percent as Berong shifted its shipments
to include middle-grade ore (1.5 percent). This, coupled with falling nickel
prices, pushed DMCI Mining’s average selling price to drop 25 percent year-on-year
from $38 to $29. “We had a good first quarter, but we do not see this holding
up for the rest of the year due to a number of factors, such as weak market
prices, peso appreciation versus the US dollar and our dwindling nickel
reserves in Berong’s active mine sites,” DMCI Mining President Cesar F.
Simbulan Jr. said.
Berong estimates its nickel reserves
in its active mine sites to be around 710,000 tons.
“We hope that with BNC’s track record
as a responsible miner, it will be allowed to operate in other areas so we can
continue providing livelihood and employment opportunities in our host
communities,” Simbulan said.
In December last year, Berong was
the only mining company audited by DENR which passed the nearly two-year
review. Of the 13 companies audited, three were ordered closed while nine
remained suspended, pending the implementation of certain DENR conditions.
The mine directly and indirectly
employs 541 people from Barangay Berong and nearby communities. At the height
of its operations, the company had a total work force of 925.
On a stand-alone basis, DMCI
Mining’s first-quarter revenue grew 63 percent to P501 million from P308
million while net income jumped 167 percent to P144 million from P54 million
due to the cost-containment measures employed by the company.
No comments:
Post a Comment