By Arra B. Francia, Reporter
THE MINING unit of DMCI Holdings Corp. expects a “tough” year ahead as its inventory will soon run out, while its Zambales plant has yet to secure the go signal to resume operations.
DMCI Mining Corp. said in a statement Thursday that it expects to be shipping lower grade nickel for the year with an average of 1.57%, compared to the average nickel grade of 1.7% from its shipments in 2018.
“We will be shipping mostly lower grade nickel which fetches a lower price in the market. Our inventory is also nearly depleted,” DMCI Mining President Cesar F. Simbulan, Jr. said in a statement.
The company shipped 643,000 wet metric tons (WMT) of nickel ore last year, 22% higher than its shipments reaching 525,000 WMT in 2017. Average selling prices of nickel stood at $36 during the period, 25% higher than its $29 price in 2017.
Mr. Simbulan said they expect to ship about 800,000 WMT this year, although noting flattish demand from the market. This will be sourced from its nickel assets in Berong Nickel Corp. (BNC).
“Tingin namin hindi masyadong gagalaw ’yung market. Even the clients that we’ve been asking, the Chinese, on how they see nickel, it looks like it will stay as it is from 2018,” Mr. Simbulan told reporters in a recent briefing.
The executive added that Indonesia has also opened up exports of nickel ore, bringing in more supply to the market.
BNC was the only one that passed the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ (DENR) mine review in November last year.
Aside from BNC, DMCI Mining’s nickel assets also include Zambales Diversified Metals Corp. (ZDMC).
The DENR has partially granted ZDMC’s motion for reconsideration to resume operations by reducing its closure order to an order suspending the operations, production, and shipment of the company.
With this, ZMDC will have to meet certain conditions, such as the continued rehabilitation and reforestation of the mine site and the management of environmental structures in the area, to secure the clearance to start operating again.
The company said it has already submitted its action plan to meet the DENR’s conditions.
DMCI Mining saw its net income jump 93% to P190 million in 2018, against the P99 million it posted in the year before.
Parent DMCI Holdings’ consolidated net income went down by two percent to P14.5 billion last year, amid a three percent uptick in revenues to P83 billion. The company attributed the flattish results to its coal mining unit’s prolonged plant shutdowns, offset by the better performance of its property and construction units.
Shares in DMCI Holdings jumped 1.82% or 22 centavos to close at P12.34 each at the stock exchange on Thursday.
