MANILA - Listed Century Peak Metals Holdings Corp. told the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday that its unit has delivered its first shipment of nickel ore from a mine in Dinagat Islands to China.

In a disclosure, the company said its subsidiary Century Peak Corp. shipped a total of 52.782 million metric tons of ore, with guaranteed nickel content of between 0.90% and 1.1%, and iron content of 48%.

Century Peak was planning to build a P7-billion nickel smelting plant in the country to have fully integrated mining operations.

The company is now in the process of selecting a suitable site for the smelting plant, which is expected to have an output of 20,000 metric tons annually.

Construction of the plant is slated for late this year. It will be operational next year.

Century Peak has a nickel ore exploration permit covering 3,188 hectares of land in Albor, Dinagat Province. It also has a pending exploration permit over a 5,135-hectare property in Iwahig, Puerto Princesa.