UPDATE 1-Philippines' nickel mining hub to suspend operations due to coronavirus

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By Enrico Dela Cruz
MANILA, March 31 (Reuters) - Mining operations in the
Philippines' southern province of Surigao del Norte, home to
most of the country's nickel mines, will be suspended from April
1 as part of efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus,
two mining companies said on Tuesday.
Nickel Asia Corp NIKL.PS and Global Ferronickel Holdings
Inc FNI.PS , the Southeast Asian country's two biggest nickel
ore miners and exporters, said in separate statements that they
received a copy of the suspension order dated March 28 from the
provincial government.
The two miners account for more than half of the country's
nickel ore output.
Nickel Asia said the suspension order also covers the entry
of foreign vessels to Surigao del Norte. The nearby province of
Dinagat Islands, which also hosts nickel mines, has banned
vessels shipping ore to China, local media has reported.
The Philippines is an alternative supply source of nickel
ore for China, which relies mainly on higher-grade material from
Indonesia. Ore from the Philippines is used to make nickel pig
iron for the production of stainless steel.
Philippine nickel miners expect increased orders from China
this year after Indonesia banned exports of unprocessed ore.
Nickel Asia said the suspension order may adversely affect
the scheduled ore shipments of its two units, Taganito Mining
Corp (TMC) and Hinatuan Mining Corp (HMC), and its revenue for
the second quarter of 2020. It did not specify the shipment
volumes.
"The impact of the temporary suspension of the operations of
TMC and HMC to (Nickel Asia's) overall business will depend on
the duration of the...suspension," it said, adding that in 2019,
the two units accounted for 59% of its total nickel ore
shipments.
Global Ferronickel said it is lowering its nickel ore
shipment target this year to 5 million wet metric tonnes (wmt)
from 6 million wmt, but it has made an appeal to the Surigao del
Norte provincial government to allow them to continue operating.
"We're hoping they will allow us because we follow the
requirements of the 14-day quarantine protocol and have adopted
post-quarantine measures to insulate our workers from COVID-19
infection," Global Ferronickel President Dante Bravo told
Reuters.
"It's important that the export sector like us should be
able to continue so that we lessen the impact to the economy,"
he added, citing the taxes miners pay that can help augment
government funds for emergency spending.