Procurement News Notice |
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| PNN | 1383 |
| Work Detail | Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc. (FNI), the second largest nickel producer in the country and the largest single lateritic mine exporter in the world, on Monday said more foreign investors have expressed interest in the nickel mining sector in the Philippines. The Philippines is the largest exporter of nickel ore to China, the world’s largest consumer of nickel. After declines in nickel price early this year, nickel price has rebounded by more than 30 percent. The financial industry, including ratings agency Moody’s, has been calling a bottoming of base metal prices, including nickel. Moody’s has upgraded its outlook for the global metals industry from negative to stable. "FNI is well positioned to benefit from the further recovery in nickel ore prices and the expansion of our production capacity. We plan to increase our production of medium and high-grade nickel ore to capitalize on the recovery," said Atty. Dante R. Bravo, president of FNI. "FNI is one of the lowest cost producers in the country. Our production will be year-round when the Palawan mine is operational in 2017," he added. Rising demand from the stainless steel industry in China and the tightening of supply due to the closure of several nickel mines in the Philippines are factors which are expected to push the price of nickel higher. FNI, however, said that potential investors, in one of their meetings, have raised concern over the seemingly aggressive stance of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) against mining companies in the country. But the company explained it supports the policies of the new administration which reassured investors that the DENR’s recent actions were taken against illegal and non-compliant miners. Miners who are compliant have nothing to fear. Commenting on the situation, Bravo said, "The government has established rules and regulations, and FNI has consistently complied with the rules and regulations as we are committed to responsible mining." "FNI has been granted ISO Certification 14001:2015 Environment Management Systems Certification for our operations in Surigao and received favorable feedback following a recent audit by regulators," he added. A global fund manager earlier commented, "We are starting to see an upturn in prices, driven by the increasing global deficit of nickel. We are also heartened to see that responsible miners, such as FNI, are coming out to reassure investors and it is important that the mining industry is seen to be fully transparent in the current climate." "Our long-term growth prospects are positive. Indonesia’s mineral ore export ban and China’s projected steady growth have kept up nickel demand. The inventory of refined nickel and nickel pig iron in China are gradually depleting. We also see the increasing demand for new energy vehicles, which use nickel in their new battery systems and the use of stainless steel in the construction of new nuclear power reactors in China to meet increasing demands for electricity as integral to the company’s growth story," said Bravo. |
| Country | Philippines , South Eastern Asia |
| Industry | Mining |
| Entry Date | 02 Sep 2016 |
| Source | http://interaksyon.com/business/131906/more-foreign-investors-express-interest-in-nickel-mining-in-philippines |
