Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 25) — The value of the country’s metal output grew 1.13% in 2020, data from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau revealed.
Latest data from the agency showed that value of mine output last year was logged at ₱132.21 billion, up from 2019’s ₱130.74 billion. This uptrend was mainly driven by nickel production, it noted.
“Nickel ore together with the nickel by-products – mixed nickel-cobalt sulfide and scandium oxalate ruled the production scene,” MGB said, adding that they contributed ₱68.48 billion or 51.80% of total metal production value.
The agency noted that direct shipping nickel ore was the biggest contributor to the industry. It reported a 21% increase in its value at ₱38.39 billion with production at 333,962 metric tons, which was up 3% year-on-year.
There were 11of 30 mining projects that reported zero production due to care and maintenance program or suspension order by the government, it added.
Despite the pandemic, MGB said the commodity benefited from favorable metal prices due to supply disruptions, robust demand from China’s stainless-steel industry, and possible lower supply due to Indonesia’s nickel ore export ban.
“Next to Indonesia, the Philippines is the largest supplier of nickel ore to China,” it said. “China was still the country’s top export market for its nickel ore followed by Japan in 2020.”
Gold earned the second spot, at ₱47.6 billion or 36% of the total production value. Copper was third, accounting for ₱14.88 billion or 11.25%.
The shared value of silver, chromite, and iron amounted to ₱1.26 billion, making up less than 1% the total.
But despite higher value, MGB reported lower production volume in 2020 of gold, silver, and copper, due to the absence of Didipio mine of OceanaGold Inc. in Nueva Vizcaya after it failed to renew its mining contract. The mine contributes 20% to gold’s, 24% to silver’s, and 25% to copper’s annual production.
Gold production declined 16% to 17,424 kilograms while silver went down by 23% to 24,024 kg. Copper production volume dropped 18% to 60,856 MT.
The MGB said prices of metals in 2020 were higher than their pre-pandemic levels. Specifically, gold and silver both recorded an increase in price of 27%, reporting a price of $1,770.21 per troy ounce and $20.45 per troy ounce, respectively. This was driven by depreciation of the US dollar and lower interest rate, MGB noted.
However, the agency said outlook for the industry this year “remains uncertain” as the pandemic continues, with the implementation of lockdowns that leaves companies no choice but to reduce operating hours and manpower.
Another factor is the non-production of many mining sites due to environment-related issues, unfavorable weather conditions, or maintenance status.
The MGB is hoping that new mining projects will commence this year and those that had no production would resume their operations to further boost the mineral industry.
