DMCI Mining on Track to Meet Nickel Ore Production Target

MANILA, Philippines — DMCI Mining Corp., the nickel mining arm of Consunji-led DMCI Holdings Inc., is on track to meet its production goal of three million wet metric tons (WMT) of nickel this year. DMCI Mining president Tulsi Das Reyes said the company’s three operating mines would be able to meet its ore production target for the year. “We’re on track for this year, for three million WMT, that was our target. Next year, we’ll stay the same unless we are able to open a new mine and or increase our environmental compliance certificate (ECC) for either property,” he told reporters. Reyes said its Long Point operation in Palawan would be able to about 1.2 million WMT of ore by the end of the year. The Palawan mineral project is operated by the company’s unit Berong Nickel Corp. (BNC). On the other hand, DMCI Mining has two operating mines in Santa Cruz, Zambales, through Zambales Diversified Metals Corp. (ZDMC) and Zambales Chromite Mining Co. (ZCMC). “ZDMC is going to go through final mine rehab in the next few months, maybe one or two quarters away, and our Zambales chromite mine is going to probably scale up,” he said. The scaled-up chromite operation will provide an additional one million WMT to its total ore production. He said the Long Point mineral project was able to ship out one million WMT in three months, while its Zambales project has already produced about 1.6 million WMT. “We’re almost to where we want to be, and we are not too far away,” he added. Meanwhile, Reyes said he is pushing DMCI Mining to deliver stronger contributions to the DMCI Group in the years to come. “I want DMCI Mining to be recognized as one of the leading mine sites in the country, especially in the nickel space, I want to be known as the safest, compliant, environmentally sound. I think in return, we should be able to add volume, margin and value for the shareholders,” he added. To support this, Reyes said the company is also looking to expand its mining operation in Palawan and Zambales. “We see continuously exploring our Long Point assets and its surroundings,” he added. He said the company is also conducting further exploration operations within the area of its Zambales mineral operations. The company generated about P1.74 billion in earnings during the first half of the year amid higher shipment volumes. DMCI Mining extracts nickel, chromite and iron laterite throughout its active sites in Palawan and Zambales. The ore is then shipped to its key markets in China and Japan.