UPDATE 1-Philippines H1 nickel ore output rises 3% despite mine shutdowns – by Enrico Dela Cruz (Reuters U.S. – September 10, 2019)

https://www.reuters.com/

MANILA, Sept 10 (Reuters) – Nickel ore output in the Philippines, one of the world’s top two producers of the material for stainless steel and batteries, rose 3% in the first half, government data showed.

Output was capped as half of the country’s mines were closed for maintenance or environmental reasons.

The Philippines sells most of its nickel ore to top buyer China. It produced 11.31 million dry metric tonnes of the material between January and June, compared with 11.01 million tonnes in the same period last year, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) said on Tuesday.

The Philippines and Indonesia are the top two producers globally. Sixteen of the Philippines’ 31 nickel mines were shut in the first half for either maintenance or suspension of operations for environmental and other offences, the MGB said in its quarterly industry report.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) last year issued a resolution suspending the operations of several mines, including some nickel producers, following audits to assess their compliance with environmental regulations.

For the rest of this article: https://www.reuters.com/article/philippines-mining-nickel/update-1-philippines-h1-nickel-ore-output-rises-3-despite-mine-shutdowns-idUSL3N2610PV