By Marianne V. Go Monday, June 30, 2008 The Platinum Group Metals Corp. (PGMC) mine sites in Surigao and Isabela will ship at least 450,000 metric tons of nickel ore to Australia before the end of the third quarter of this year.
PGMC’s mine site in Cagdianao, Surigao del Norte is scheduled to ship at least six boatloads of 50,000 MT of nickel ore, while its Isabela mine will ship three boatloads of 50,000 MT of nickel ore starting in August.
PGMC has a five-year contract with Queensland Nickel Ltd. (QNI), a wholly owned subsidiary of BHP Billiton, to annually supply the Australian firm with at least 1.2 million metric tons of nickel ore from its mine sites in Isabela and Surigao.
The supply agreement with QNI is renewable for another five years.
The Surigao mine site will finish loading the second 50,000 MT before the end of this week.
PGMC will ship four more boatloads of 50,000 MT before the end of September.
The Isabela mine will overlap shipments with Surigao starting in August until it completes the shipments at the end of the third quarter.
The mine sites of PGMC and its subsidiary, MCCI Corp., have obtained fiscal incentives from the Board of Investments (BOI) for its mining and smelter projects.
The company’s mining operations enjoy an income tax holiday of six years and zero duty on capital importation.
The BOI incentives also include tax credits on Surigao Integrated Resources Corp. (SIRC) taxes and supplies and semi-manufactured products used in producing PGMC’s export product; simplified procedures on importations of capital equipment, raw materials and supplies; and exemption from wharf dues, export taxes, duty, and imposts for 10 years.
The Surigao mine was granted its incentives in November last year, while the Isabela mine was granted the same incentives early this year.
Both mines were also granted their environmental compliance certificate (ECC) by the Department of Environment & Natural Resources in 2007 and 2008, respectively.
The Surigao mine has an approved production volume of 1.4 million metric tons of nickel ore per annum, while the Isabela mine is allowed two million dry metric tons annually.
PGMC’s Surigao mine covers 4,376 hectares in Surigao del Norte under a 25-year Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) granted by the DENR on Jan. 12, 1992.
On the other hand, Isabela’s MPSA was granted on July 30, 2007 covering 2,392 hectares.
PGMC’s smelter operations under MCCI obtained pioneer status for the production of ferronickel used in the stainless steel industry.
PGMC has three ferronickel smelter projects located in Manticao, Misamis Oriental; Iligan City; and Danao City, Cebu.
The smelter projects enjoy similar fiscal incentives as the mine sites, but with a two-year extension in the income tax holiday.
The Manticao smelter was granted a mineral processing permit (MPP) by DENR Secretary Joselito Atienza on June 17, 2008 allowing it to produce 11,000 metric tons of ferronickel annually for five years.
On the other hand, the MPP for the Iligan smelter was favorably endorsed recently by Horace Ramos, director of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, to Atienza.
The Iligan smelter projects an annual production of 35,802 MT of ferronickel and 288,000 MT of calcined ore for five years.
Ferronickel is processed nickel and is vital to the stainless steel industry. It is a key resource in the development of the automotive and aerospace industries worldwide.
PGMC is the only integrated mining and ferronickel company in the country with assets worth P3billion.
It is a Filipino-controlled company led by the tandem of cousins Ramon and Rafael Atayde.
“Over the years, we have managed to keep the shareholdings of the company the same,” PGMC chairman Ramon R. Atayde said.