CMC eyes 12 ore shipments by Nov.

DINAGAT ISLANDS – Cagdianao Mining Corporation (CMC), a subsidiary of listed mining firm Nickel Asia Corp. (NAC), is set to boost its operations to complete 12 more shipments of nickel ore to China by November.

CMC Mine Production Supervisor Noah Balonzo said the company had so far completed 25 shipments to China.

Right now, a couple of shipments are currently being loaded into the barge. Each shipment carries 55,000 wet metric tons of nickel ore.

Nickel currently costs around $20 to $30 per wet metric tons in the world market for 1.45 percent nickel.

There are three active mines within CMC, covering a total of 30.94 hectares.

Balonzo said the nickel deposit in CMC’s nickel mine area is sufficient to sustain operation in the next 20 years.

Issued in November, 1997, CMC's mineral production sharing agreement (MPSA) covers land area of 697.0481 hectares. The company's MPSA covers a total of 697.05 hectares.

Of these, CMC Environment Head Phoebe Jean Alac said only 268.21 hectares are considered “disturbed area.” Around 60 percent of CMC's mined out area covering around 70 of the 150 hectares are now undergoing rehabilitation.

The company’s mine facilities include a stock yard, waste dump, settling ponds, mine haulage roads, and CMC structures or buildings, including guest houses and offices.

CMC is one of the three nickel-mining companies that continue to operate in Dinagat Islands, following former Environment Secretary Regina Paz Lopez’s crackdown against irresponsible mining.

Its area of operations is within the Surigao Mineral Reservation. CMC exports saprolite and limonite ore.

Moving forward, CMC mine planning engineer Mark Joseph Ostonal didn't provide any exact figure but he said the company anticipates higher income despite lower revenues.

This, as the firm jumpstarts cost-cutting efforts in its operations amid lower world market prices.

Ostonal said the peak season in CMC starts in April and usually end in October.

NAC is country's largest producer of lateritic nickel ore and one of the largest in the world.

In June, it was reported that NAC is expecting to end this year with a higher income, a continuation of the positive trend it experienced during the first three months of the year.

NAC president and chief executive officer Gerard Brimo said the company is hoping it can sustain the profit turnaround it saw in the first quarter until the end of this year.

"We had a very good first quarter. Hopefully (we can sustain it for the rest of the year). I think we can. But then again, we have to see what happens to the prices in the market," Brimo said in an earlier interview.

During the first three months of the year, the listed mining firm recorded an attributable net income of R377.5 million, a complete turnaround from a net loss of R300.8 million it suffered from the same period last year.