Philippines top nickel miners expect firm ore prices on China demand – by Enrico dela Cruz (Reuters U.S. – April 11, 2017)

http://www.reuters.com/

The two biggest nickel miners in the Philippines, Nickel Asia Corp and Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc, on Tuesday said prices for the metal would be robust this year due to growing demand from China.

The Philippines is the world’s top supplier of nickel ore, used to help make stainless steel, with China its No.1 market.

“The company’s prospects remain optimistic driven by strong stainless steel demand in China,” Global Ferronickel President Dante Bravo said in a statement released with the company’s export outlook for this year.

Read more

Mining suspended in cyclone-hit New Caledonia as people seek shelter – by Charlotte Greenfield and Tom Westbrook (Reuters U.s. – April 10, 2017)

http://www.reuters.com/

WELLINGTON/SYDNEY – Cyclonic winds and heavy rain buffeted New Caledonia on Monday, prompting residents of the French South Pacific territory to seek shelter and halt mining of nickel, its most important export.

Cyclone Cook hit the main island at almost the same time as high tide, packing winds of up to 200 kph (124 mph), bringing down coconut trees to block roads and forcing residents to seek shelter indoors.

“Right now we are in the eye of the storm, it is calm, but before the wind was strong and the rain was heavy,” David Sigal told Reuters as he sheltered in the town hall of Poindimie, about 50 km (31 miles) north of where the storm hit land. Floods, and waves as tall as 10 meters (33 feet), were also forecast by weather authorities.

Read more

Philippines nickel miner seeks Duterte help to unfreeze ore (Reuters/Asia Times – April 9, 2017)

http://www.atimes.com/

A suspended Philippine nickel miner has asked President Rodrigo Duterte to allow it to ship ore stockpiles after some cargoes were seized as tensions escalated over a required fee it claimed was illegal.

BenguetCorp Nickel Mines has filed an urgent motion with Duterte’s office to issue a cease and desist order against the environment ministry after its officers, along with agents of the National Bureau of Investigation, raided its operations on Thursday, halting the loading of nickel ore into two Chinese vessels, a company official told Reuters on Sunday.

Reuters reported last month that eight nickel miners, including BenguetCorp Nickel, were suspended for environmental breaches in a mining crackdown.However, miners in the world’s top producer of the raw metal were allowed to remove previously mined ore that could pose environmental hazards.

Read more

Palm-fringed indecision: Votes loom on the future of New Caledonia and Bougainville (The Economist – April 6, 2017)

http://www.economist.com/

The first Pacific island may choose to stay part of France, but the second could split from Papua New Guinea

IT HAS been six years since the birth of the world’s youngest country, South Sudan, in 2011. It may soon have some younger siblings. The Pacific island of New Caledonia is due to hold a referendum on independence from France by November next year; Bougainville, 1,200 miles to the north (see map), is supposed to vote on separation from Papua New Guinea in 2019.

The timing of the two referendums was fixed decades ago, to defuse long-festering conflicts. But the approach of the appointed time is raising tricky questions about how to word the question on the ballot, who should have the right to vote and what to do once the results are in.

New Caledonia’s secessionist uprising ended in 1988 when leaders of the indigenous Kanaks and French loyalist politicians agreed to hold a vote on independence a decade later. When that deadline arrived, the two sides approved a further delay of 15-20 years.

Read more

[Philippines] Middle ground on mining? – by Cielito F. Habito (Philippine Daily Inquirer – April 4, 2017)

http://opinion.inquirer.net/

I have always said that on the matter of mining, there is no room for extreme positions. Productive public discussion on mining requires that it be done rationally and dispassionately, freed from emotions and especially from impressions and perceptions that are not grounded on facts.

Amid the large volume of arguments and assertions coming from both sides of the issue, with both even citing biblical references for support, there is a need to distill hard facts from mere claims, untruths and half-truths.

I know it’s hard not to be emotional for those who have directly witnessed and felt the ill effects certain mining activities have had on communities, lives and livelihoods. It is also hard for industry advocates not to get emotional when stonewalled by closed minds simply unwilling to listen to reason and evidence-based arguments.

Read more

Vale Indonesia to build $2 billion ferronickel smelter in Southeast Sulawesi – by Viriya P. Singgih (Jakarta Post – March 29, 2017)

http://www.thejakartapost.com/

Publicly listed nickel mine operator PT Vale Indonesia plans to build a US$2 billion ferronickel smelter in Pomalaa, Southeast Sulawesi. The construction of the new facility is initially slated for 2018, while the operation is expected to start in 2023.

However, the company—part of Brazilian mining giant Vale—is still waiting for the issuance of the forest area utilization permits and is in the process of revising the environmental impact analysis (Amdal) for the project.

It has teamed up with Japanese miner Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd. to develop high pressure acid leaching (HPAL) technology for the Pomalaa processing plant and is looking for another partner to help produce the ferronickel in the facility. It is also looking for a partner to build another ferronickel plant in Bahodopi, Central Sulawesi.

Read more

Former yoga missionary could bring Philippine mining industry to its knees (Channel News Asia – March 27, 2017)

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/

The world’s biggest source of nickel is facing a mining shakedown. Philippine environment secretary Gina Lopez has made it her mission to save the country’s watersheds – with the biggest mines as her main target.

MANILA: The Philippines’ environment secretary, Gina Lopez, comes from one of the country’s wealthiest families, with business stakes in media empires, energy and manufacturing. But she had mostly stayed away from the limelight, choosing a life of travelling, spirituality and yoga.

When she returned to the Philippines, she became a passionate advocate for the environment using the charity arms of her family’s media company, ABS-CBN, to fund her projects. That all changed when she was appointed environment secretary under the new Duterte administration and took on some of the country’s biggest businesses, despite little technical education.

Read more

Exclusive: Philippines allows suspended miners to ship out nickel ore after clampdown – by Manolo Serapio Jr (Reuters U.S. – March 24, 2017)

http://www.reuters.com/

MANILA – The Philippines’ environment ministry has allowed eight suspended nickel ore miners to ship out stockpiles of mined ore, sources told Reuters, temporarily boosting supply from the world’s top exporter of the raw metal after a major crackdown.

More than half of all mines in the Philippines have been ordered to permanently shut to protect watersheds in an eight-month campaign led by Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Regina Lopez.

Allowing the halted mines to sell their stocked nickel ore is aimed at limiting the potential build up of silt in nearby waters, an official with knowledge of the order said, rather than the government toning down its campaign.

Read more

CORRECTED-COLUMN-Nickel markets can shrug off any Philippine mining ban – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.S. – March 20, 2017)

http://www.reuters.com/

Just how worried should nickel markets be about the latest threats by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to stop all mining in the world’s biggest exporter of the metal ore? Probably not too much.

The reason to be relatively sanguine about the prospects for nickel supply isn’t that Duterte is unlikely to follow up on his latest threat, although he may not. It’s that even if he does, the market is likely to be able to cope with the loss of Philippine nickel ore, despite having to make some short-term adjustments.

In the latest twist to Duterte’s ongoing battle with his country’s miners, the bombastic and populist leader accused them of funding efforts to destabilise his government, and mooted a total ban on mining.

Read more

WHAT’S STOPPING THE PHILIPPINES FROM MINING ITS RICHES? – by Calire Jiao (South China Morning Herald – March 19, 2017)

http://www.scmp.com/

Half the nation’s mines were shut last month; foreign firms consider moving

When mining investors talk of the Philippines, they often boast of its wealth of untapped mineral reserves. But as one political controversy after another rocks the industry, miners are beginning to worry that’s all they will ever be: untapped.

In one fell swoop, the Philippines Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) shut down more than half of all operating mines last month. According to Secretary Gina Lopez, its audit found “serious environmental violations” in 23 of the country’s 41 mines. The department also cancelled contracts for 75 mining projects still in their exploration stages. The projects are located in watersheds; Lopez said they never should have been approved to begin with.

Miners are up in arms, not only about the orders, but the way in which they are being carried out. They say their supposed violations haven’t been made clear and argue that they should be given the chance to address any issues.

Read more

Mining issues cloud Phl competitiveness – by Richmond Mercurio (The Philippine Star – March 17, 2017)

http://www.philstar.com/

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines may soon feel the backlash of the ongoing issues surrounding the closure and suspension of mining companies in its global competitiveness rankings, the National Competitiveness Council (NCC) said.

NCC private sector co-chairman Guillermo Luz told The STAR the decision of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to close 23 mine sites and suspend five others may affect the country’s standing in some global reports, particularly those that include rule of law, contracts and formation of public policy as indicators.

“Any area which affects investor interest is obviously an area of concern for us. Definitely, you can see the impact on the mining sector. Obviously, they are very concerned,” Luz said.

Read more

Tensions rise in New Caledonia as it mulls a break with France – by Michael Field (Nikkei Asian Review – March 16, 2017)

http://asia.nikkei.com/

Bougainville and Guam are also moving toward referendums on constitutional status

AUCKLAND Due east of Australia, the Pacific island of New Caledonia is mulling a final break from France, ending a relationship lasting more than 150 years. In a referendum that will take place next year, islanders will vote on the issue of independence.

The wording of the referendum question to be asked has not been determined, and neither has the eligible electorate. Tensions have been building, prompting Paris to dispatch 50 additional security officers to the territory. They arrived in February, but attacks on police have continued, wounding three and drawing condemnation from authorities.

Sonia Backes, a senior pro-French politician in New Caledonia, has been critical of what she sees as Paris’ soft line. This month she demanded the prosecution of an indigenous politician who called whites in New Caledonia “immigrants.” “UNBEARABLE REMARKS” “These remarks are unbearable,” she said, adding that those who say such things should be prosecuted for “inciting racial hatred.”

Read more

Philippine lawmakers postpone vote on embattled resources minister – by Enrico Dela Cruz and Manolo Serapio Jr (Reuters U.S. – March 14, 2017)

http://www.reuters.com/

MANILA – Philippine lawmakers on Tuesday deferred a decision to confirm or reject an ardent environmentalist as the country’s resources minister, stoking uncertainty over the outlook for mining in the world’s top nickel ore supplier.

Regina Lopez last month ordered the closure of more than half the nation’s mines to protect watersheds, a bold step backed by President Rodrigo Duterte, who has said the Philippines can survive without mining.

Duterte appointed Lopez in June, but confirmation hearings in the country usually take place long after ministers start work and members of Congress have this month been debating whether to confirm Lopez in her role.

Read more

Philippines’ Duterte wants mining ban, links miners to destabilization plot – by Manolo Serapio Jr and Enrico Dela Cruz (Reuters U.S. – March 13, 2017)

http://www.reuters.com/

MANILA – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday accused some miners of funding efforts to destabilize his government as he talked about a possible plan to impose a ban on mining given the environmental damage producers have caused.

Duterte, who has said the Southeast Asian nation can survive without mining, has backed a crackdown on miners by Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Regina Lopez in the world’s top supplier of nickel ore.

Duterte said he was looking at a total mining ban “and then we’ll talk”, referring to miners. “When it comes to the preservation of my country, the land… I will do what is necessary,” Duterte told a media briefing.

Read more

ANALYSIS: Arrested development: why Indonesia lifted its mining export ban – by Julian Turner (Mining Technology – March 13, 2017)

http://www.mining-technology.com/

The Indonesian Government is hoping to kick-start its economy by lifting a partial ban on exports of metal ore and mineral concentrates, a policy originally aimed at boosting domestic processing and reducing the South East Asian nation’s exposure to volatile commodity prices.

In January, the Indonesian Government ended months of speculation by lifting its partial ban on the export of unprocessed minerals, underlining not only the parlous state of South East Asia’s largest economy, but also its status as a major supplier of nickel ore and bauxite, for aluminium production.

The controversial policy was intended both to boost smelting capacity by developing higher value domestic processing facilities and reduce Indonesia’s exposure to volatile global commodity prices.

Read more