NICKEL Asia Corp. said its four operating mines saw first quarter sales increase 32 percent to 3.49 million wet metric tons, a statement showed.
The estimated value of shipments in the first quarter of 2015 likewise increased by 95 percent to P2.84 billion from P1.46 billion reported in the same period last year.
The estimated realized nickel price on 1.50 million WMT of ore sales to Japanese and Chinese customers in the first quarter of this year averaged $32.44 per WMT, higher than the average of $21.83 per WMT realized in the same period last year.
With respect to low-grade limonite ore sold to both the Coral Bay and Taganito processing plants, which remain linked to LME prices, the company realized an average of $6.50 per pound of payable nickel on 1.99 million WMT sold in the first three months of the year.
This compares to an average price of $6.69 per pound of payable nickel on 1.80 million WMT sold during the same comparable period last year.
“While ore prices on the average have held well in the first quarter of this year, we’ve been seeing nickel LME and ore prices trending down,” Gerard Brimo, Nickel Asia president and CEO, said in the statement.
“It appears that the constraint in ore supply following the ban on ore exports in Indonesia has not been sufficient to provide significant price support due to the current weak demand across all commodities,” he said.
“Looking ahead, we remain positive in the medium term as we believe that current low prices are not sustainable.”
Typically, low shipment volumes occur during the first quarter of the year since operations at the company’s Taganaan and Cagdianao mines do not commence until the second quarter, following the rainy season in the south of the country.