NEWS

By Ruelle Castro | Malaya | August 27, 2024

GLOBAL Ferronickel Inc. s looking at the possibility of diversifying into the logistics and cement businesses.

Dante Bravo, Global Ferronickel president, said the logistics venture will hinge on the company’s investment in Mariveles Harbor Corp.

“We have recent investment in port and logistics, and we see that we have a growing economy. There’s a lot of consumption. And since the port in Manila is congested and ports in Bataan are congested, we think our strategic investment in Mariveles, Bataan would be a very good investment to expand into not just bulk cargo handling, but also into container terminal services, and cater to our housing services to accommodate different types of cargos,” said Bravo in a recent forum.

Bravo said Global Ferronickel is presently investing in warehousing and container terminal services in the terminal.

Global Ferronickel owns 88 percent of the Mariveles terminal, which handles handle shipments of coal, clinker, silica sand & cement raw materials, as well as steel, fertilizer, and other dry bulk cargoes.

Global Ferronickel initially bought 60 percent of the terminal in 2019.

Bravo said venturing into cement will depend on the decline in the cost of power in the Philippines.

Announced last year, Global Ferronickel intends to make use of limestones in its mining areas for the venture.

“We are spending a lot on infrastructure, importing a lot of cement… I guess there’s a lot of opportunity in the cement sector,” he said.

Bravo, however, said that the company’s main thrust is to expand its nickel mining business further, exploring more of its mining areas in Surigao del Norte and Palawan for mineable reserves.

“We are also actively exploring value added processing opportunities. Specifically, reassessing the possibility of establishing a ferro nickel processing plant and a battery grade nickel plant in the Philippines. This would not only increase our product offerings, but also enhance our position in the global nickel supply chain, particularly the EV (electric vehicle) market,” he said.

“Our vision is about scaling our operations, optimizing our infrastructure, and developing business relationships that improve our bargaining power. As we move forward, we are committed to maintaining the flexibility needed to adapt to new opportunities while staying true to our core values of sustainability and operational excellence,” he said.

Global Ferronickel’s mines consist of a 5,200-hectare (ha) area in Surigao which has a capacity of 7.5 million metric tons (MT) per year. In Palawan, the company has 3,000 has of mineable area with a capacity of 1.5 million MT.

Both mines have a mine life of at least 10 years, according to Bravo.

Both operations are cost- efficient and stable and benefit from long-term contractual deals.

The company also has a 20-percent stake in Chinese smelter, Guangdong Century Tsingshan Industry Co. Ltd. (GCTI), which Bravo said creates synergies with Global Ferronickel as the nickel ore supplier and GCTI as a value-added processor.

Source: Malaya

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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