DMCI Mining sees nickel market recovery

DMCI Mining Corp. expects a recovery in its nickel mining business amid an expected uptick in global prices, the company’s president said.

“The first three quarters of this year have been terrible,” DMCI Mining President Tulsi Das C. Reyes told reporters last week.

“Prices have dropped to about 40% to 50%, but the past 30 days to 45 days, we have seen an uptick in prices, and our lower-grade ore is now marketable.”

The average price of nickel ore declined by 23.7% to %7.94 per pound in the first semester from $10.4 per pound a year ago, according to the Mines and Geosciences Bureau.

For the second quarter, the company reported a net loss of P43 million, a reversal of the P250-million net income reported a year earlier.

It said that this was due to weak market prices, reduced shipments, and costs incurred at its Palawan mine.

The company operates open-pit mines in Palawan and Zambales through its subsidiaries Berong Nickel Corp. and Zambales Diversified Metals Corp. It extracts nickel ore, chromite, and iron laterite.

“It is usually driven by Indonesia… So, a lot of our export is going (there),” he said.

He added that Indonesia has been holding most of its nickel ore resources within the country despite the demand for battery grade processed nickel from China.

Nickle is among the critical minerals used for batteries for renewable energy and electric vehicles. It is also used for stainless steel. Indonesia is among the world’s top producers of nickel, followed by the Philippines.

Mr. Reyes said the company expects to produce 1.4 million tons of nickel ore this year.

If realized, this would be a 17.6% drop from the 1.7 million tons reported in the company’s financial statement for 2023.

Total nickel ore production in the second quarter declined by 37% from 523,000 wet metric tons (WMT) to 328,000 WMT.

For the first half, production declined by 30% from 1.122 million WMT to 782,000 WMT. — Adrian H. Halili