GLOBAL Ferronickel Holdings Inc. (FNI) on Tuesday announced that its Ipilan nickel project has successfully completed its maiden shipment of 54,000 metric tons nickel ore from its Palawan mine site to Guangdong Century Tsingshan Nickel Industry Co. Ltd in China (GCTN).

A long-standing customer of FNI’s Surigaobased Platinum Group Metals Corp., GCTN is looking forward to building a solid relationship with INC.

“After years of careful planning and regulatory compliance, this inaugural shipment is a remarkable milestone for our group and bodes well for the country’s economic and social governance goals at this critical time. Target for the year is 500,000 WMT (wet metric tons), with increased production in the coming years, as we begin year-round operations,” said FNI Chairman Joseph Sy.

INC has identified infrastructure as its primary focus with the establishment of a minihydro power plant and farm-to-market roads as part of its corporate social responsibility initiative to the host community. During calamities, INC came in as one of the first responders, allotting over P2 million worth of food and water supplies to those affected by Typhoon Odette, and P12 million more in medical equipment and sacks of rice at the height of the pandemic.

FNI is also the largest single laterite nickel exporter in the world. The company owns two laterite nickel mines located in Surigao and Palawan.