DMCI Mining Corp. on Thursday said it recorded an 88-percent improvement in nickel shipments from January to June this year at 482,762 wet metric tons, from 257,120 WMT last year, but it warned it will have a significant drop in shipments by the second half of the year because of the shutdown of its mine sites.
The majority of the shipments, or 430,000 WMT, came from the old stockpile of Berong Nickel Corp. in Palawan, while the rest were from the inventory of Zambales Diversified Metals Corp.
For the second quarter alone, Berong shipped 327,000 WMT, while Zambales made no shipments pending the reissuance of its port permit.
The old stockpiles of the two mine sites were produced at a lower cost, which helped boost the performance of DMCI Mining.
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, but it cannot resume mining activities.
“We had a really good first semester. Our subsidiaries were able to ship more high-grade nickel ore at a higher selling price,” DMCI Mining President Cesar F. Simbulan Jr. said.
“But we are expecting a drastic drop in nickel shipments in the second half because our old stockpile is nearly depleted. Weather conditions will also make it difficult for us to ship what is left in our inventory,” he said.
Average nickel grade and average selling price both increased during the first half of 2018. From 1.56 percent, average nickel grade increased 11 percent to 1.73 percent year-on-year. During the same reporting period, average selling price grew 10 percent, from $35 to $39.
Second-quarter average nickel grade improved 8 percent year-on-year, from 1.62 percent to 1.75 percent.
DMCI Mining revenues grew 114 percent, from P458 million to P978 million, for the first semester of 2018. Net income during the same period surged 731 percent, from P38 million to P316 million.
From April to June this year, earnings from the nickel business increased 978 percent, from P23 million to P248 million.
The company, however, said there will be no shipments during the second half of the year, since the Zambales mine is in full shutdown, while it cannot ship out anything from Berong due to bad weather.
In its Palawan mine, it has a stockpile of about half a million WMT composed of mid-grade nickel, which is enough for the company to ship out until the second quarter of next year.