DMCI Mining says nickel output up 33% in 2025; Long Point mine set to start operations

DMCI MINING CORP. said its nickel ore production rose 33% to 2 million wet metric tons (WMT) in 2025, driven by higher output from its Zambales mines and initial operations at its Long Point project in Palawan.

Ore shipments also grew 31% year on year to 1.9 million WMT, the company’s second-highest shipment level, it said in a statement over the weekend.

The company cited improving market conditions and operational gains. Average benchmark Philippine free-on-board (FOB) prices for 1.5% grade laterite nickel ore increased 26% to $45.70 per WMT in 2025 from $36.30 in 2024.

“The combination of our record production, strong prices and the continued progress of our Long Point development gives us solid growth prospects, both for the company and for our host communities,” DMCI Mining President Tulsi Das C. Reyes said.

In August 2025, Berong Nickel Corp. (BNC), a DMCI Mining subsidiary, secured a 25-year mineral production sharing agreement for its Long Point Nickel Project in Aborlan, Palawan, covering 2,177 hectares.

“We are confident that in the very near future, we can get the Palawan mine open. We are just waiting for permits. Two to four weeks, we can start mining,” Mr. Reyes told reporters.

With the Palawan project and the two existing Zambales mines, DMCI Mining expects stronger output in 2026. “I think we will have a historic year this year. Prices have been strong. If everything is done right, we can ship out 3 million tons this year,” he said.

BNC has also rehabilitated over 174 hectares at its Quezon mine under the country’s first approved Final Mine Rehabilitation and Decommissioning Plan (FMRDP) for a nickel operation. The Quezon mine, which operated from 2006 to 2021, produced 10.4 million WMT of nickel ore, generated more than 1,600 jobs, and contributed about P2.8 billion to the economy.

The company said BNC has exceeded its Year 3 rehabilitation targets, with the program on track for completion in 2027, after which the restored area will be turned over to the government.

Apart from BNC, DMCI Mining operates mines in Zambales through Zambales Diversified Metals Corp. and Zambales Chromite Mining Company, shipping nickel ore to China and other international markets.

DMCI Mining is a subsidiary of listed holding firm DMCI Holdings, Inc. — Vonn Andrei E. Villamiel