Sulphur 418 May-Jun 2025
3 May 2025
Government looking to emulate Indonesia?
The Philippine government is looking to follow Indonesia’s success in attracting downstream investment by banning the export of nickel ore. The Philippine Congress could ratify a bill banning raw mineral exports as early as June. The ban would come into force five years after approval to give miners time to build downstream processing plants. This development could potentially lead to higher nickel prices in the medium term if there is a delay to building domestic capacity and the Indonesian government becomes serious about restraining ore availability.
After Indonesia, the Philippines is the largest producer of nickel ore on a mined basis. The country stepped up its exports of nickel ore following the Indonesia nickel ore bans in 2014 and 2021. The main market for Philippine nickel ore is China, where it is used to produce nickel pig iron.
