P1-B lime processing plant starts operations

The Philippine unit of Malaysian firm Unichamp Mineral Sdn Bhd has brought online a P1-billion integrated lime manufacturing plant in Rio Tuba, Palawan.

The facility, which makes industrial lime milk, has been undergoing commissioning over the past two months and is scheduled for formal inauguration on Wednesday.

Daniel Lim, Unichamp executive chair, said in a press briefing that the plant was under contract with Coral Bay Nickel Corp. (CBNC) for the delivery of the latter’s entire supply needs.

The factory’s output—made from natural limestone sourced locally from Rio Tuba—is used to recover minerals such as cobalt, nickel, iron and aluminum from slurry through a process called leaching or neutralization.

Milk lime is also used in other industries such as for soil treatment in agriculture, soil stabilization for road construction, and water treatment for the production of potable water as well as in steel production, sugar refining, and industrial production of paper.

Lim said the $24-million project within the Rio Tuba Economic Zone was the first of its kind in the country and was built based on international standards using Unichamp group’s in-house engineering and design with help from its European technology partner.

Lim added that Unichamp intended to make the plant a stepping stone for possible investments in additional plants that will cater to customers in other industries.