Intex to redesign its Mindoro nickel project

MANILA, Philippines - Intex Resources Phils. Inc. has decided to reconfigure its Mindoro nickel project to allow it to produce fertilizer as a by-product of it primary nickel mining and processing project.

In a press statement, Intex said that the design of its processing plant for the Mindoro nickel project has been reconfigured to allow it to produce fertilizer as a by-product.

The fertilizer, Intex said, would help meet the country’s fertilizer requirements.

According to Leo Cleto Gamolo, president of Intex, “ the project has been reconfigured to become not only the Philippines’ largest and most modern nickel plant with a target production of 40,000 tons per annum of nickel metal, but also as the largest fertilizer plant with a production of as much as 200,000 tons a year of ammonium sulphate, a commonly used fertilizer.”

Gamolo continued that the Mindoro nickel project could “substantially support Philippine agriculture by providing a reliable and local source for its most commonly used fertilizer.”

The fertilizer to be produced by Intex, Gamolo said, could result in significant foreign exchange savings for the country as importations of fertilizers would decrease.

Gamolo explained that “as we move the project forward, we are beginning to realize unexpected but certainly most welcome development.”

He disclosed that aside from ammonium sulphate, the Mindoro plant would also be able to produce cobalt compounds in the form of sulphates, carbonate, hydroxides and oxides.

A consumer application of cobalt compounds, Gambolo explained, is in the production of rechargeable batteries for cellular phones.

In the field of agriculture, he said, cobalt compounds could be blended with fertilizer or used as a dietary supplement for livestock.

Gamolo added that the plant would utilize carbon-free energy in producing nickel and by-products such as fertilizer and cobalt compounds.

According to Gamolo, “the high pressure acid leach (HPAL) technology for our nickel processing plant is such that we will be generating our own power in a most environmentally-friendly manner. We will not be using fossil fuels nor will we be emitting carbon dioxide greenhouse gases.”

The Intex plant will supposedly not be dependent on Mindoro’s power grid for its requirements.

Gamolo said that the plant may, in fact, generate more power than it needs.

“We will be generating around 50 megawatts, which will subsequently increase to 80 megawatts. The excess can be passed on to Mindoro’s power grid,” Gamolo said.

Intex’s Philippine partners in the Mindoro nickel project are Aglubang Mining Corporation and Alag-ag Mining, Inc.