SHANGHAI, Aug. 4 (SMM) – Operation at Philippine nickel mines may not be disrupted this year by the wet season from October to early next year thanks to dry weather linked to El Niño.
“The impact of El Niño on our operations is going to be positive, as our mines can remain in operation in October or November when the rainy season usually starts,” said Emmanuel L. Samson, chief financial officer of top miner Nickel Asia Corp.
This year Nickel Asia expects ore exports to hit a record of over 19 million wet metric tons (WMT), up 1.1 million WMT from 2014’s, Samson said.
Philippine miner Agata Mining Ventures is optimistic over its production in the last quarter of 2015, and Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc., the country’s No. 3 ore producer, also believes that the dry weather will favor its production, and expects to ship a record 6-7 million WMT this year.
In the Philippines, hydro-power has dropped to 13.7% in its total power generation as the country has stepped up efforts on clean energy power generation in recent years.
China, the leading consumer of Philippine ore, is expected to import around 47.1 million tonnes of nickel ore from the Philippines this year, SMM estimates in its latest monthly nickel report.
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