British firm gets nod on $20-m nickel test project
Filed under: Mineral - Nickel, Operator - Berong Nickel, Operator - Rusina, Operator - Toledo Mining
By Othel V. Campos
The Mines and Geosciences Bureau has given the go-signal to European Nickel Plc of the United Kingdom to build a $20-million heap leach testing site in Zambales province that will determine the adaptability of local laterite nickel ore.
“It’s starting out as a research project. The firm is taking [nickel] ore samples from Rusina Mining and Berong Nickel to pilot the amenability tests,” bureau director Horacio Ramos told reporters at the sidelines of the Sustainable Mining Exploration and Investment 2008 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Ortigas, Mandaluyong City.
Ramos said the heap leaching technology was “a lot cheaper than the high pressure acid leach technology” and would help investors maximize their investments in the Philippine mining sector. The heap leach process is considered cheaper than other conventional technologies in nickel recovery, he added.
Euronickel owns a 19.3 percent interest in Toledo Mining Corp. and 18.7 percent in Berong Nickel Corp.
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