On December 5th, 2023, the first group of Sichuan Shunying Power Battery Materials Co., LTD. (hereinafter referred to as "Sichuan Shunying") to the Philippines set off from Chengdu Tianfu Airport to Manila, Philippines. The visit, led by Li Xinsheng, assistant general manager of the Company, Zhao Zihao, Chief Financial Officer of Nabis Chemistry Group, and He Dongzheng, deputy director of the investment Department of Sichuan Shunying Securities, aims to conduct a survey of the investment environment and policies in the Philippines, the Laterite nickel mining area and mining enterprises, as well as the key cities and terminals with the landing conditions of the project, and lay the foundation for the second stage of key research and cooperation negotiations.
The Philippines visiting plan is divided into three parts:
The first phase involves visiting government departments and local mining and trading companies in Manila, the capital of the Philippines. Through the recommendation of the Philippine President's Special Envoy for China, the inspection team met with former Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Ramon Paje, current Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry, Dr. Ceferino S. Rodolfo, and the Commercial Counselor of the Philippine Embassy in China, among other officials. Discussions focused on the conditions and support policies for investing in the local implementation of Sichuan Shunying's new technology project for nitric acid pressure leaching under the framework of the "dual parks" cooperation between China and the Philippines, and relevant policy documents were obtained.
Additionally, the inspection team met with executives from four companies specializing in nickel ore trading, such as FHILHUA SHIPPING, to gain comprehensive insights into various aspects of nickel ore distribution, mining, transportation, and trade in the Philippines.
(The team visits a local mining company)
In the second phase, the inspection team, guided by government recommendations and considering the mineral resource conditions, selected four sites for on-site inspection. These sites are Zambales, Surigao del Sur in the Caraga region, Dinagat Island, and Davao Oriental, spanning the north and south of the Philippines. The Philippines has two nickel ore belts: the western belt mainly produces high-nickel, low-iron ore, which differs from the ore type required by Sichuan Shunying. Therefore, only the Zambales mining area was inspected this time. The Caraga region in the eastern belt was the focus area, covering North Surigao, South Surigao, North Agusan, and the Dinagat Islands. This region has abundant laterite nickel ore reserves and mature production capacity, making it a primary source of low-nickel, high-iron laterite nickel ore. The inspection team traveled from Dinagat to Davao, inspecting multiple mines, ports, and companies along the way.
(Distribution of metallogenic belt and mining area in Philippines)
The rainy season climate characteristics of Zambales mining area are not obvious, and the mines are busy shipping. The mining area mainly produces high nickel ore, the color of the ore soil is yellow, the mining area is far away from the dock, and there are many tourist resorts and residential areas around, so the local government has high requirements for environmental protection.
（Zambales Mining Area）
In the Caraga region, the team landed on Dinagat Island and focused on South Surigao, an area with a number of mature mines. The most intuitive feeling in this area is the red soil layer that can be seen everywhere in the mountains. It can be seen that the laterite nickel ore reserves in this area are extremely rich, and it is an ideal location for future projects for Sichuan Shunying
(South Surigao Mining Area)
In the East Davao mining area, the team conducted in-depth exchanges with the local Chinese mining owners, from the perspective of Chinese investment in the Philippines, a wide range of mining, land, business, tax and other aspects of information, and visited its mine located in East Davao. The development of the East Davao mining area is relatively backward, but gold, copper, nickel and other mineral reserves are rich, and laterite nickel ore has not been shipped on a large scale.
(Davao East Mining Area)
After the completion of the mining inspection and the accumulation of preliminary knowledge of several major mining areas in the Philippines, the delegation returned to Manila and met with the Philippine President's Special Envoy for China Affairs to report the preliminary results of the inspection and discuss the work arrangement for the next stage. Mr. Special Envoy fully affirmed the efficient and environmentally friendly application of Sichuan Shunying nitric acid pressure leaching new technology project in latelite nickel ore, and warmly welcomed Shunying Company to introduce this technology project to the Philippines for investment and construction. The Philippines will provide the most powerful policy support for project investment under the relevant policy framework of "two parks between China and the Philippines", and promised to give the greatest help in mineral source security. The Special envoy established communication channels between the investigation team and the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Resources and the Embassy, and gave the fastest response and coordination to policy questions and requirements raised by Sichuan Shunying.
（The photo of the inspection team with Mr. Maynard, Special Envoy of the President of the Philippines for China Affairs, and his assistant）
In the early morning of December 22nd, after completing the mission of this inspecting, all the first group of the inspection to the Philippines returned home safely, and the first phase of the mission of this inspection to the Philippines was a complete success.