Sumitomo mulls $1.7-B nickel plant

Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd. is considering putting up a $1.7-billion nickel processing plant in the Surigao del Norte, a local partner said yesterday.

The high pressure acid leaching plant, with a capacity of 30,000 tons of contained nickel per year, will use ore from the Taganito mine, said Gerard Brimo, president and CEO of Nickel Asia Corp., which hopes to take a 20-30 percent stake in the project.

“We are expecting that Sumitomo will shortly give the go-ahead for the project in spite of the difficult conditions we are experiencing,” he said on the sidelines of a mining conference.

“We are waiting for an announcement from them that I hope will come by the end of October.”

Sumitomo is also doubling capacity at another nickel processing plant on the western island of Palawan to 20,000 tons of contained nickel per year, he added. Nickel Asia is also a partner in this project.

“These two plants will supply seven percent of the world’s nickel output.” — Marianne Go