Ipilan mining project to start next year

Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc. (FNI), the country’s third largest nickel ore producer, would like to restart operations next year after former Environment Secretary Regina Paz Lopez cancelled the environmental permit of its Ipilan mining project in 2016 for failing to start on time.

FNI President Danto Bravo is hopeful that the project, which was approved by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) two years ago, can finally resume in 2019.

The Ipilan Nickel Corp. (INC) has been the subject of other controversies, including an alleged tree cutting activity in Palawan that earned the ire of Lopez's successor, Roy Cimatu, as well as the demolition of its mining structures that was led by Brooke’s Point Mayor Mary Jean Feliciano.

Despite these events, Bravo believes operation will start next year. "I am always optimistic," he said. "The matter is now with the OP (Office of the President) and we don't deal directly with Secretary Cimatu on the matter".

Bravo said it may be better for the company to seek OP's intervention than DENR's since Cimatu "lacks information" about INC's operations.

"There's a pending issue with our ECC (environmental compliance certificates) so we hope to resolve that (soon). Legally, we believe the ECC still subsist but we need to resolve (issues with the government) first," Bravo said.

Bravo said that once all the issues are resolved, it will require the company six to eight months to start the development.

It was in May 2016 when MGB formally allowed INC to explore and mine in as much as 343.3 hectares of its mining area, while the remaining area of more than 2,000 hectares was supposedly subject to further exploration.

During that time, FNI was already planning to conduct trial shipments, with the approved annual production rate of about 1.538 million wet metric tons.

A few months later, DENR decided to cancel the ECC of INC, making it among the first few companies that fell on the bad side of Lopez' controversial mining crusade.

INC's permit was taken away for allegedly failing to start the project within the five-year period from the issuance of the permit.