The closure of more than half of the major mining operations in the country further delineated nickel output to a new low of 230,000 metric tons (MT) in 2017, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) showed in its latest preliminary data.
Nickel produced last year dropped by 33.71 percent, further downgrade from 2016’s 347,000 MT. This has been the case since 2012, when the country hit its first low at 424,000 MT
In 2015, the country registered 554,000 MT of nickel production, the last highest number recorded before the lowdown.
However, the Philippines still maintained its annual global production of 2.1 million MT, while Indonesia, who had a more productive year, took care of the decreases.
“The decreases were offset primarily by increased production in Indonesia, which in January eased an export ban on direct-shipping ore for companies that intend to construct nickel-processing facilities,” the USGS said.
The latest USGS records also say Indonesia doubled its nickel production to 400,000 MT, compared to 190,000 MT in 2016 – replacing the Philippines as top nickel producer in 2017.
Since 2016, local nickel output has been on the decline after registering a 31.4 percent production cut due to low prices in the global market, unfavorable weather conditions, and the suspension order issued against several large-scale miners, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau said in a 2016 year-end report.
“This was even before former Environment Secretary Regina Paz L. Lopez launched an audit on all the country’s mining operations,” it added.
February 2017 saw the controversial closure and suspension of 26 mining operations due to allegedly violating environmental laws, wherein idle areas were used as mining tenements, that led to the damaging of land and watersheds across the country.
This also resulted in the persistent decline of PH’s total nickel produce, to which spiked an increase of at least two percent of its prices at the London Metal Exchange (LME).
“The Philippines, the world’s leading producer of nickel ore, suspended one-half of its mining operations in September [of 2016] for failing to meet environmental standards, triggering a 2% increase in LME nickel prices, helping the recovery of global nickel prices,” the USGS noted.
