Jaysco Holdings announced on the 27th that it plans to establish an overseas production base for eco-friendly battery material resources by constructing a VAT Leaching Plant for nickel refining in the Philippines.
The company is expected to accelerate site selection and feasibility studies in the second half of this year to advance its local nickel refining business in the Philippines. With the recent completion of the first and second ports for mining and overseas export of nickel ore from a mine spanning approximately 2,700 hectares, the company aims to build a stable global nickel value chain that extends beyond nickel ore mining and export to include beneficiation and refining.
The refining project currently under review involves the construction of an eco-friendly refinery using the VAT leaching method. Leaching, a core process in mineral refining, is a method that uses solvents to dissolve valuable metal components from ore or concentrate into a liquid phase. Representative leaching methods include percolation and agitation. Depending on the location and equipment used, percolation leaching can be classified as leaching in place, heap leaching, or VAT leaching.
While the high-pressure acid leaching (HPAL) method commonly used in Indonesia involves high temperatures and pressures and imposes significant energy and waste burdens, the VAT leaching process operates at relatively lower pressures and temperatures, making it an eco-friendly alternative in terms of energy efficiency, process stability, and waste management.
Additionally, whereas the HPAL method requires large-scale integrated facilities, the VAT leaching process can start on a small scale with modular facilities and be flexibly expanded as production increases. According to the company, this approach is suitable for minimizing initial investment risks while ensuring long-term scalability.
A company representative stated, "By introducing a VAT refinery optimized for production scale and ore characteristics, we expect to improve profitability through refining operations rather than simply exporting raw ore. This will also serve as a proactive response to the Philippine government's strengthening of resource localization policies in the future."
The representative added, "With the second Trump administration in the United States increasing pressure, domestic and international companies are accelerating their shift away from China. There is a growing trend to establish new value chains to avoid disadvantages associated with using Chinese raw materials and components. Through the construction of the VAT refinery, we aim to actively respond to the European Union's strengthened battery regulations and supply chain due diligence systems, as well as to major countries' carbon regulations, thereby laying the foundation for resource circulation and ESG management."
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