Nickel ore output in the Philippines dropped 12 percent in the first nine months of the year from the same period in 2007 amid flagging world prices,  government data showed.

Demand for metals has cooled amid the global economic slowdown, with the price of nickel on the London Metal Exchange falling to below $9,000 a tonne in October, the lowest in more than five years.

Following is a summary of the Philippines' metallic mineral production for January-September provided by the government's Mines and Geosciences Bureau: