Global Ferronickel clinches supply deal with Baosteel

Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc. | PHOTO: Facebook page of Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc. (FNI)

MANILA, Philippines  -Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc. has secured a deal with Baosteel Resources International Co. Ltd. on the supply of 1.5 million wet metric tons (WMT) of nickel ore throughout this year.

In a disclosure filed on Tuesday, the mining firm said its subsidiaries Platinum Group Metals Corp. (PGMC) and Ipilan Nickel Corp. signed a sale and purchase agreement with the Chinese steelmaker.

Through the transaction, the price will be determined monthly based on market rates prevailing at the time of the sale.Two-thirds of the nickel ore to be sold to Baosteel is expected to be low grade, with 0.9 percent nickel and 48 percent iron.

The remaining one-third will be medium grade with at least 1.4 percent nickel and 12 percent to 23 percent iron.

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These will be sourced from Global Ferronickel’s operating mines in Surigao del Norte and Palawan provinces.

“This agreement and our long history together demonstrate our customer’s confidence in our business and provide further recognition of our efforts in maintaining a reliable supply chain to meet the demands for Baosteel products throughout the Asia-Pacific region and internationally,” Global Ferronickel president Dante Bravo said in a statement.

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In 2023, the company shipped out a total of 4.76 million WMT, including 3.3 million WMT from PGMC and 1.47 million WMT from Ipilan.

Of last year’s shipments, a total of 379,000 WMT was sold to Baosteel.

In the first nine months of 2023, Global Ferronickel’s net income dropped to P1.8 billion from P2.1 billion on the back of higher expenses.

Revenues, meanwhile, climbed by 33.1 percent to P6.8 billion due to higher sales from its mining operations in Palawan.