SMM Additionally Acquires NAC’s Shares to Total 25% for Nickel Business

Sumitomo Metal Mining (SMM) announced on Monday the firm acquired an additional 8.5% equity in Nickel Asia Corporation (NAC), the largest nickel mining company in the Philippines, at US$ 22 million (approximately 2 billion yen). SMM is now the secondly largest shareholder of NAC, holding 25% of NAC’s shares.

NAC operates several nickel mines, one of which is Rio Tuba Nickel Mining. Rio Tuba Nickel Mining supplies nickel ore to Coral Bay Nickel Corporation, SMM’s subsidiary in the Philippines.

NAC will join SMM’s Taganito HPAL (high pressure acid leach) project operated in the country, along which SMM plans to extract nickel from low grade ores. SMM acquired 16.5% of NAC’s shares at $ 39 million in August 2009 to strengthen the strategic partnership.

SMM raised the equity to deepen the partnership.