by AFP July 22, 2016
Manila, Philippines
- Concern over the new Philippine government’s mining policies is helping
drive global nickel prices to nearly one-year highs, the local industry
association said Friday.
Staunch mining critic
Gina Lopez, President Rodrigo Duterte’s environment secretary, has suspended
the operations of several nickel mines while also stopping the approval of all
new mining projects.
The Philippines is the
world’s top supplier of nickel ore and the main shipper to China, the biggest
market for the commodity.
“The price movement now
is only because of the (minister’s) pronouncements. It threatens the future of
a lot of mining projects already in the pipeline,” Chamber of Mines of the Philippines
official Ronald Recidoro told AFP.
Nickel ore is a raw
material for nickel, which is used to make stainless steel.
Bloomberg reported
Friday that nickel extended gains to an 11-month high due to concern over
supply disruption. The metal is up 22 percent this year, recovering from a 42
percent slump in 2015.
On Wednesday, Lopez
ordered top producer Nickel Asia to stop a subsidiary from exporting its nickel
ore stockpiles from its mine on Manicani island in the central Philippines.
“Our audit shows they
are taking too much soil which goes to China,” she said.
The subsidiary,
Hinatuan Mining Corp., released a statement clarifying it had not been mining
in the area since the late 1990s and was now only selling off its old
stockpiles.
In a department order
released to AFP, Lopez also ordered an audit of all mines to ensure they met
global standards.
She said she would also
push for a new law ensuring the Philippines derives more revenue from mining
instead of the countries where the raw materials are shipped for processing.
“I don’t want to fight
against the mining industry but … our people must not suffer because of
business interests,” she said.
Recidoro, the mining
chamber’s vice president for legal and policy affairs, said these statements
sparked fears about future supply.
“We’re worried when she
says she equates mining with suffering. We don’t think that’s accurate.”
Recidoro said nickel
mines expect to pass Lopez’s audit, but the industry is concerned about future
exports.
“We need a steady
inflow of new mining projects to sustain our output, and I think that’s what
will be under threat.”
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