MCCI raising add‘l $100-M capital

MANILA, Philippines - MCCI Corp., the only producer of ferronickel in the Philippines, is raising capital  for the rehabilitation of its smelting facilities in Cebu, Iligan and Misamis Oriental.

In a statement, the company said it has engaged US-based investment advisory company Benchmark Co.  LLC for assistance in raising $100 million from US lenders for capital expenditure to bring its smelters into full operation.

The company aims to produce 250,000 metric tons of ferronickel and nickel pig iron by the last quarter of 2015.

Part of the capital raised will also be used for the acquisition of stakes in and development of additional nickel mines to ensure the supply of nickel ore for its smelters.  

Ferronickel and nickel pig iron, used primarily in the production of steel, enjoy strong international demand particularly from China.

MCCI has steered away from the traditional export of raw nickel ore and has been using its smelting facilities to develop ferronickel and nickel pig iron production technology over the past five years. 

The company said it has successfully completed initial production trials that have been tested and accepted by its customers in China.

The Philippines imports steel and stainless steel products despite having abundant sources of basic minerals the manufacture of these products because of lack of smelters.

Neighboring Southeast Asian county Indonesia has taken steps to develop the value chain in its mineral processing industry, having recently banned the export of ore to encourage investors to put up smelting plants and use the domestic supply of nickel. 

MCCI is also studying the viability of constructing of a dedicated 160-megawatt power plant to ensure power supply to sustain its smelting operations in Mindanao.