ORE expects better earnings in Q2

Manila, Philippines -  Oriental Peninsula Resources Group Inc. posted higher earnings in the second quarter despite a weak trend in the prices of base metals in global markets, according to a top company official.

ORE chairman Caroline Tanchay said the company’s second quarter earnings and revenues will be “significant”, noting that the growth will primarily come from sales of iron.

Tanchay refused to give figures, saying the company will soon file its financial report to securities regulators.

She said the company has stopped selling nickel ore due to soft metal prices and instead focused its resources on developing its mine in Espanola, Palawan.

Tanchay remains confident that the company’s earnings will be better than last year despite the softening of global metal prices. The company sells ore to China, Australia, Japan and Europe.

ORE posted a net income P467.4 million in 2011, a reversal of the losses it incurred a year ago. Revenues reached P1.13 billion, 98 percent of which came from the sale of ore.

ORE, through subsidiary Citinickel Mines, owns and operates the Pulot and Toronto mining projects, located in the municipalities of Sofronio Espanola and Narra in Palawan.

Citinickel has made the Pulot mine site fully operational with a capacity twice that of the Narra mine site. The company will further expand Pulot to double its present capacity in 2013.

It is the holder of a 25-year mineral production sharing agreement issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources covering 2,176 hectares.

The company has so far explored only 13 percent of the total area.

ORE is considering building a $10 million sintering plant that will allow it to produce semi-processed metals using the output from its Palawan mines.