The global nickel market will be kept in suspense even longer over the outlook for ore supplies from the Philippines after the country’s mining council again pushed back the deadline for completion of a review of 26 mines ordered shut or suspended last year.
Former Environment Secretary Gina Lopez ordered the closures as part of a mining crackdown led by President Rodrigo Duterte. The new delay could mean the review won’t be ready before August, after an initial pledge to finish it by the end of last year.
The miners have appealed the shutdowns and are still operational, Environment Undersecretary Jonas Leones said Tuesday. “All administrative and judicial remedies have to be exhausted for the orders to be final and executory,” Leones said in a phone interview.
The appeals are being reviewed separately by the environment department and Duterte’s office. The Philippines was the top exporter of nickel ore to China in the past four years after Indonesia imposed a ban on shipments in early 2014.
Indonesia has partially eased the ban and its flow of cargoes expanded this year. Nickel has climbed 50 percent in the past two years as the world economy recovered.
For the rest of this article: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-27/philippines-starts-review-of-26-suspended-or-closed-mining-sites