GLOBAL Ferronickel Holdings Inc. on Monday said its subsidiary Platinum Group Metals Corp. (PGMC) has been awarded an annual contract to supply 1 million wet metric tons (WMT) to Baosteel Resources International Co. Ltd. at the prevailing market price.
PGMC has been supplying Baosteel Resources with high- to medium-grade saprolite ore and medium- to low-grade limonite ore since 2014.
Early this year PGMC had also signed supply agreements for the delivery of up to 3 million WMT. The award of Baosteel Resources increases PGMC’s take-up to 4 million WMT.
Headquartered in Hong Kong, Baosteel Resources is a wholly owned subsidiary of Baosteel Group focused on global distribution of mineral resources through investment, trade and logistics services.
In 2015 Baosteel Group ranked as the fifth-largest company among iron and steel enterprises and 218th overall on the Fortune Global 500 companies, which it has been consistently recognized for 12 consecutive years.
China, the world’s second-largest economy, has no nickel-ore deposits and relies on the Philippines for its supply needs. Its economy, however, is weakening, pulling down the prices of nickel in the world market.
As a result, mining firms like Global Ferronickel struggles to make a profit.
An alleged closure order was slapped against PGMC due to the alleged “siltation of coastal waters and mining in a watershed”.
“It is a surprising contradiction of the findings and the recommendations of the Mine Audit Report,” the company said.
PGMC earlier said it passed the mine audit conducted by a multisectoral team in August last year and recommended the continuation of its operations and gave the company high ratings for environmental compliance and management, and community development.
The team, composed of representatives from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Mines and Geosciences Bureau, Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau, Department of Health, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and the religious sector performed a comprehensive audit that entailed a review of reports and documents, an assessment of PGMC facilities and activities and the surrounding environment, and interviews with local government officials and community members.