Sumitomo Metal Mining to Launch New Nickel Project in Philippine

Sumitomo Metal Mining announced on Thursday the firm will launch new nickel smelting project in Taganito region, northeast of Mindanao Island in Philippine. The firm and Taganito Mining Corporation of Philippine start joint feasibility study launching joint venture in 2008 to build plant with high pressure acid leaching (HPAL) in mine site for more than US$ 1 billion. The plant will start the operation in 2013 to produce nickel-cobalt sulfide with annual 30,000 tonnes in nickel and 2,500 tonnes of cobalt from low grade nickel oxide ore running 30 years. They conduct 18 months feasibility study and will decide if they would build the plant. They will decide the share holding ratio. They would build the plant from 2009 to 2011. Sumitomo Metal Mining will buy all of the products from the new plant. The firm will feed the material to Niihama Nickel Refinery with matte chlorine leach electrowinning technology in Ehime to produce electrolytic nickel and electrolytic cobalt.