DMCI Mining sees further delay on shipment of 1 M tons of nickel ore
After experiencing a drastic drop on its nickel shipments in the first half of the year, DMCI Mining Corporation, led by business mogul Isidro Consunji, is not at all keeping its hopes high for the rest of the year, even expecting the sluggish trend to persist as long as its operations remain suspended.
Left with no choice, the company may also have to delay its shipment of more than a million tons of nickel ore stuck on its stalled mine sites.
DMCI Mining, whose two nickel subsidiaries were issued suspension and closure orders by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) last year, is a subsidiary of listed holding firm DMCI Holdings, Inc., which also owns Semirara Mining and Power Corp.
DMCI Mining president Cesar F. Simbulan, Jr. said in a text message that pending the lifting of suspension and the weather situation, "it is very unlikely for the company" to be able to make another major shipment this year.
“We have 1,042,433 tons more in our stockpile but the rainy season and large sea swells will make it very difficult for us to make any further shipments,” Simbulan said in a separate statement disclosed at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Thursday.
“Hopefully, our pending appeals will be resolved when the weather conditions improve,” he added.
He then told Business Bulletin that there's a "very strong" possibility that the sluggish trend will carry on until the end of this year.
DMCI Mining Corporation reported a drastic drop in nickel shipments during the first half of the year as its two operating subsidiaries remained suspended during the period.
From 873,371 wet metric tons (WMT), the combined nickel shipments of Berong Nickel Corporation (BNC) and Zambales Diversified Metals Corporation (ZDMC) fell 71 percent to 257,120 WMT. The shipped nickel ore came from the stockpiles of the two firms.
DENR allowed suspended mining companies to ship out their stockpiles to limit the possible accumulation of silt in nearby bodies of water.