DMCI eyes bigger nickel output from Palawan

ABORLAN, Palawan -- DMCI Mining is looking to expand its 1-million-ton Long Point nickel operation in Palawan as it remains on track to hit its 3-million-ton production target this year, with further exploration eyed to unlock more output.

DMCI Mining president Tulsi Das Reyes said the company is now undertaking more extensive exploration within the 2,177-hectare Long Point property in Aborlan after initially covering only a fraction of the area.

“We have to continue exploring to see what’s in the ground. We have to increase our Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC). Make ECC amendments to increase our ECC threshold,” Reyes said.

Long Point began commercial operations in March 2026, raising DMCI Mining’s total operating capacity to about 3 million wet metric tons annually. The project’s environmental compliance certificate provides for 1 million wet metric tons of annual production capacity.

Reyes said the company wants to increase Long Point’s output, but first needs more exploration data to determine the scale and quality of the resource.

He said exploration is still at an early stage, with previous work conducted at relatively wide spacing. The company is now moving toward tighter exploration to better establish what lies beneath the property.

Reyes said DMCI is looking at both expanding Long Point and developing other sites in Palawan.

The expansion push comes as DMCI Mining works toward its 3-million-ton production target for 2026. Reyes said the company had shipped about 1 million tons from Palawan in three months, while its Zambales operations had reached about 1.6 million tons.

He said the company expects to maintain roughly the same group production level next year unless it opens another mine or secures approvals to increase capacity.

DMCI’s Long Point expansion plans come alongside the rehabilitation of its former Berong nickel mine in Quezon, Palawan. Mining at Berong ended in December 2021, with a six-year rehabilitation program launched in 2022. 

As of 2026, Berong Nickel Corp. had invested about P160 million in rehabilitation, planted nearly 352,000 seedlings with a 97 percent survival rate and produced more than 497,000 seedlings in its nurseries. The program is scheduled for completion in 2027 before the rehabilitated area is turned over to the government. 

For Reyes, the long-term goal is to establish a bigger and more responsible mining footprint in Palawan.