ORE unit exceeds mining target

MANILA, Philippines—By yearend, the mining unit of publicly listed Oriental Peninsula Resources Group Inc. (ORE) will have produced about twice its target ore tonnage for 2011, chairperson and president Caroline Tanchay said.

Tanchay said strong global demand for nickel for much of the year encouraged aggressive production.

“The good thing about our products is we have all kinds of grades and all are sellable,” Tanchay told the Inquirer.

Tanchay said Citinickel sells ore to China, Australia, Japan and Europe.

Nickel is a corrosion-resistant metal commonly used for alloys and plating.

“China and America tried to pump up their economy by funding infrastructure projects—bridges, trains—in the trillions of dollars. And demand for things that do not rust, like engines, medical tools and parts for gadgets, was generally good. Anything that you do not want to rust you need nickel to make it,” Tanchay said.

Citinickel has been operating since August and has been stockpiling nickel ore at its mine site in Palawan.

Citinickel secured a 25-year mineral production sharing agreement from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in 2007.

One of Citinickel’s assets is a 768-hectare property in the municipality of Narra, where it is currently mining.

The other asset is a 1,408-hectare property in Española town.

Both municipalities are located at southern Palawan.