Mineral output fell 6.7% in H1

“The telling factor for this lackluster performance was the continued decline in mine output of gold and nickel ore, together with processed products mixed sulfide and scandium oxalate.”

Lackluster gold, nickel Performance

MANILA, Philippines — The value of the country’s metallic mineral output dropped in the first half due to lower nickel prices and sluggish mine production, according to the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB).

Based on the latest MGB data, metal production in the first six months was down by 6.7 percent year-on-year, to P114.77 billion from P123.01 billion.

“The telling factor for this lackluster performance was the continued decline in mine output of gold and nickel ore, together with processed products mixed sulfide and scandium oxalate,” the agency said.

Gold was the top contributor to the total production value at P54.79 billion, equivalent to 47.7 percent.

Nickel and its by-products came in second with a collective value of P44.38 billion, or 38.7 percent of the total, followed by copper with 11.6 percent or P13.33 billion.

Meanwhile, the consolidated output values of silver, chromite and iron ore accounted for about P2.28 billion or two percent.

In terms of prices, the average price of gold went up by 14 percent to $2,203.52 per troy ounce from $1,933.95 per troy ounce.

Copper prices increased by 15 percent to $4.02 per pound from $3.5 per pound, while that of nickel fell by 28 percent to $7.94 per pound from $10.98 per pound.

The average prices of silver, chromite and iron ore during the period were not immediately made available.

Year-on-year, gold production fell by six percent to 14,187 kilograms from 15,111 kg, on the back of lackluster output from most of the producers.

Copper production volume edged higher by 6.7 percent to 142,052 dry metric tons from 133,072 DMT.

For silver, production volume was slightly down to 23,268 kg from 23,319 kg.

Nickel ore production, meanwhile, dropped by 19.4 percent to 13.37 million DMT from 16.6 million DMT.