FNI unit breaks into China’s nickel ore market

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

An entity under mining company Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc. (FNI) has completed its maiden export of nickel ore to China.

FNI’s affiliate, Ipilan Nickel Corp. (INC), delivered 54,700 wet metric tons (WMT) of medium-grade nickel ore to Chinese mining firm Guangdong Century Tsingshan Nickel Industry Co. Ltd. (GCTN).

In a disclosure to the stock exchange, FNI said the nickel ore shipment had come from INC’s 2,835-hectare mining site in Brooke’s Point, Palawan. Covered by a mineral production sharing agreement with the government, this has a mine life of at least 10 years and an annual production rate of 1.5 million WMT of medium- to high-grade nickel ore.

FNI said GCTN, a long-standing customer of its Surigao-based subsidiary, Platinum Group Metals Corp., would like to build a solid relationship with INC.

“After years of careful planning and regulatory compliance, this inaugural shipment is a remarkable milestone for our group and bodes well for the country’s economic and social governance goals at this critical time,” said FNI chair Joseph Sy.

“Target for the year is 500,000 WMT, with increased production in the coming years, as we begin year-round operations,” added Sy.

Likewise, INC has tagged infrastructure as its primary focus, with the establishment of a mini-hydro power plant and farm-to-market roads.

“We are proud of this development because it sets the tone for the optimal pursuit of our social development and environmental protection objectives. INC can now roll up the score in community engagement with various socio-civic initiatives in place from the beginning of our operations,” Sy said.

FNI booked a first-semester net income of P417.4 million, down by 34.9 percent from P640.8 million in the same period last year.

Its revenues declined by 15 percent to P2.21 billion due to lower volume of ore shipment.

FNI’s mining operations in Surigao mine, with incremental contribution from another unit, PGMC International Ltd., were the main driver of its financial performance for the period.

The company had said it was “looking forward to a productive and remarkable season,” owing to strong demand from China and favorable market conditions. It targets to ship out 4 million WMT of nickel ore this year, albeit this has been adjusted down from the previous goal of 5.5 million WMT.

In the first six months of 2022, FNI completed only 19 shipment of nickel ore equivalent to a total volume of 1.035 million WMT. In the same semester last year, it shipped out 1.74 million WMT of nickel ore.