Majestic neighboring seas
We launched commercial operations for intermediate nickel products on Palawan Island in the Philippines in April 2005*1. We were the global leader in the industry that successfully employed the special technology, HPAL method*2 for refining low content nickel ore (laterite) which up to now was impossible to do, blazing a trail that contributed greatly to the effective utilization of limited resources. This technology has low energy consumption and little environmental load.
Bird-eye View of Coral Bay Nickel Refinery
This site also sustains a beautiful ocean of coral reefs where strict environmental regulations are in place, so we held talks with the Philippine Government, local government agencies and the residents from the design stage for refinery construction which culminated with operations that focused on the rich natural environment.
In order to construct a refinery in the Philippines, we needed to obtain the "Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC)" license from the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources. We had to follow various procedures in order to obtain the ECC (See the figure at right).
First, we worked to collect baseline data. We sampled air, water, animals, plants and other conditions. Then we predicted how this data would change when the plant was in operations.
We held public hearings based on this data. The residents of the area gathered together and we explained to them the our plans, the environmental impact and contribution to the local economy. We then held three Assessment Committee meetings made up of 7 experts. We submitted our final EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) report which summarized the environmental impact to the Department after following these procedures.
We also received advise from the "Sustainable Development Committee" comprised of provincial councilors, town chiefs and religious officials according to the laws established independently by Palawan Province. We held public talks which many local residents and NGO officials joined. We then gained the understanding of the native inhabitants and ultimately received a consent form signed by thousands of local residents.
Plant & Neighboring Environmental Measurements
Monitoring by local government agencies, etc.
We obtained the ECC in July 2002 after we followed the procedures for many years. The team consisted of the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources, local government agencies, NGOs and others have monitored the plant since construction began once every 3 months. They sample air, water, animals, plants and other conditions as prescribed by law.
They continue to monitor the plant even after operations were launched. They have yet to find any problems in their monitoring. We are also monitored separately by the Mining Agency once every 3 months.
Meanwhile, Coral Bay Nickel Corporation established the Environment Office directly led by the president to conduct their own environmental monitoring for plant sites as well as employees' residential area, and is conducting operations very carefully in terms of safety, health, and environment.
We employed the HAZOP (Hazard and Operability Study) as the process safety assessment standard during plant construction, and created a design that placed employee safety first and foremost. We also paid careful attention to safety and environmental designs for preventing underground infiltration of acidic liquids and toxicity removal based on our long years of operational experience. For example, low sulfur, high quality coal used in the boilers for power generation was employed and exhaust gases were cleansed by employing an electrical filter. We also built 3 scrubbers for the harmful gases generated in the process and fully removed any toxic substances.
A system of siltation of rain water, noncommercial water and other discharge water from in the plant through gutters is used, and temperatures and pH are monitored continuously.
The residues generated in the process are detoxified then conveyed to a tailing dam by pump to a landfill. The tailing dam has around a 10 million m3 capacity which makes it usable for roughly 10 years, then after the landfill is closed, it will be backfilled and greened.
Meanwhile, we also are employing methods to protect the beautiful coral reefs along the coast. In order to accept sulfuric acid and methanol used in the plant, we extended the existing ocean jetties offshore and built a new dock to transport the sulfuric acid and methanol through pipelines from here to tanks near the coast. These pipelines were constructed with protecting the coral reefs in mind.
Pipelines Extending Offshore
