FNI unit sees another banner year for nickel ore exports

GLOBAL Ferronickel Holdings Inc. (FNI) said its unit, Platinum Group Metals Corp. (PGMC), is expecting another record year for its nickel ore exports after kicking off its 2015 operations early.

PGMC last week sent out its first two cargos of nickel ore for 2015 from its mine in Surigao del Norte.

The shipments were made relatively early after PGMC completed preparations for this year’s mining season and started mining operations in early March.

“We’ve had an early start this year compared to last year so we are aiming to surpass the export record we set for 2014,” PGMC president and chief executive Joseph C. Sy said in a statement.

Citing data from the Caraga regional office of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, Sy said his company outperformed other mining firms in the region in terms of export volume in 2014.

He said PGMC’s shipments have grown by more than twelve fold from just about 470,000 wet metric tons (WMT) in 2007 to 5.9 million WMT in 2012.

He added that in 2014, PGMC exported a 6.3 million WMT of nickel ore equivalent to 117 vessels to China and Australia.

Sy said the company was expecting to complete the loading of 10 more vessels within this month, with six vessels currently being loaded.

The six vessels have an average payload of 55,000 WMT of nickel ore and they are all bound for China.

In January, FNI announced that it posted a net income of P4.8 billion for its first fiscal semester that ended last Dec. 31.

Based on the mining company’s latest financial report, the amount is almost thrice the figure for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2014.

Comparing full-year performances, FNI’s profit doubled to P1.67 million in 2013-2014 from P850 million previously.

Last month, FNI stockholders approved a decision to acquire assets in Palawan and in Zambales.

These assets include Ferrochrome Resources Inc. valued at $30 million and Southeast Palawan Nickel Ventures Inc., $50 million.