The Philippines-based mining company and the second-largest nickel producer in the country, Global Ferronickel Holdings, Inc. (FNI), will develop its planned $50 million steel mill project on its own as its partner Hong Kong-based Huarong Asia Ltd has retreated from the project given the ongoing pandemic, according to media reports. The company has decided to make all the investment by itself instead of partnering with other companies.
According to the project, a rebar steel rolling plant will be built in the Philippines. The plant will have an annual production capacity of 600,000 mt. Construction is scheduled to start next year.
Meanwhile, Dante Bravo, FNI president, who also serves as the president of the Philippine Nickel Industry Association, stated that the country’s nickel output for this year will fall 10 percent from 27.17 million dmt in 2020 to nearly 25 million dmt, due to unexpected weather disturbances and some logistic problems. He said that, despite the lower output, the country’s nickel export value will be high as prices remain high amid the continuously rising demand coming from China.
