MINING firm Nickel Asia Corp. (NAC) said it sold a total of 14.26 million wet metric tons (WMT) of nickel ore valued at P20.6 billion as of end-September 2014.
The nine-month shipment volume of its four operating mines was 38 percent higher than 10.32 million WMT delivered in the same period in 2013, while the amount was 165 percent greater than last year’s P7.8 billion.
The company attributed such growth to increased ore deliveries to the high-pressure acid leach plants, particularly the Taganito facility that is currently on its first full year of commercial operations. Shipments of ore to the two HPAL plants reached 5.38 million WMT in 2014 as compared to 2.81 million WMT in 2013, as direct exports increased from 7.50 million WMT to 8.87 million year-over-year. NAC’s biggest unit Taganito accounted for 41 percent of its total shipments in the first nine months of this year. It delivered 2.22 million WMT of saprolite ore and 3.58 million WMT of limonite ore, including 2.78 million WMT of limonite to the new plant.
The Rio Tuba contributed 32 percent by shipping 1.63 million WMT of saprolite ore and 2.92 million WMT of limonite ore, including 2.61 million WMT of limonite to the adjacent Coral Bay plant.
Meanwhile, the Hinatuan mine shipped 2.5 million WMT of limonite ore and 261,000 WMT of saprolite ore, as the Cagdianao mine delivered 462,000 WMT of limonite ore and 678,000 WMT of saprolite ore.
Effective last April, all ore sales of NAC to its Japanese clients are now benchmarked to China prices on the basis of a negotiated price per WMT of ore.
On the average, the price-received ore to be sold to Japanese and Chinese customers, totaling 8.87 million WMT of both saprolite and limonite ore during the first nine months of the year, hit $46.72 per WMT.
As regard the low-grade limonite ore sold to both the Taganito and Coral Bay plants, which is still linked to London Metal Exchange prices, NAC realized an average of $7.87 each pound of payable nickel on 5.38 million WMT sold during the period.
“We are delighted that the company has been able to produce strong volume growth, both in terms of ore deliveries to the two processing plants, as well as direct ore exports,” said Gerard H. Brimo, president and CEO of NAC.
“As a result, we have been able to capitalize from the strong prices we are now experiencing.”