MANILA, Oct 10 (Reuters) -
* The Philippines' Department of Environment and Natural
Resources
has lifted the suspension of nickel-miner Zambales Diversified
Metals Corp, DMCI Holdings Inc DMC.PS said in a regulatory
filing on Thursday
* Zambales Diversified Metals is a subsidiary of DMCI Mining
Corp,
which is owned by DMCI Holdings
* DMCI Mining's two nickel subsidiaries, Zambales
Diversified and
Berong Nickel Corp, were among several Philippine ore producers
suspended or shut following a series of government-initiated
audits on the industry's compliance with environmental
regulations
* The DENR lifted the suspension of Berong in November last
year
* The Berong and Zambales mines, two of more than 30
nickel-ore
producers in the Philippines, in recent years accounted for less
than 5% of the nation's output of the material, which is used in
stainless steel and electric vehicle batteries
* Top nickel ore buyer China is expected to rely on the
Philippines, the world's second-largest ore producer in 2018,
for supply that will replace ore shipments from last year's top
producer Indonesia, which is due to ban its ore exports in 2020