DMCI Mining to ship 1 million WMT of nickel ore in 2018

DMCI Mining Corp. targets to double its shipments of nickel ore this year and is waiting for a resolution of its appeals with the Office of the President.

In a regulatory filing submitted by DMCI Holdings Inc. vice president and senior finance officer Brian Lim, the company said it plans to ship around 1 million wet metric tons (WMT) of nickel ore, compared with 525,000 WMT at $29 per ton in 2017.

In 2016, DMCI Mining also shipped 1 million WMT at an average selling price of $31 per ton.

“Our nickel ore inventory is good for a few more shipments. If nickel prices remain at current levels, we expect a double-digit improvement in our bottom line,” DMCI Mining president Cesar Simbulan Jr. said.

“But beyond 2018, there will be nothing more for us to sell, unless the government lifts the mining suspensions of BNC and ZDMC. Our fate rests on the decision of the government,” Simbulan said.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources allowed suspended mining companies to ship out their stockpiles to limit the possible accumulation of silt in nearby bodies of water.
 
DMCI Mining’s operating units Berong Nickel Corp. (BNC) and Zambales Diversified Metals Corp. (ZDMC) were issued suspension and closure orders in June 2016 and February 2017, respectively by former Environment Secretary Gina Lopez.

The parent firm is also implementing another round of cost-reduction measures to keep its operations viable.

After the mining units in Palawan and Zambales were closed, DMCI Mining trimmed its workforce by 62 percent.

DMCI Mining recorded P105 million in net income in 2017 compared with a net loss of P11 million in 2016. —Ted Cordero/VDS, GMA News