Société Le Nickel will “put to sleep” its Thio mining center, devastated by the abuses linked to the mobilization against the thaw of the electoral body which degenerated into riots at the beginning of May. This was announced by its management on Monday October 14.
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Some 230 employees worked at the three still-operated mines in the town on the east coast, whose history is closely linked to the mining industry. It was there in 1875 that the very first nickel ore was extracted, giving birth to an industry that is now undergoing rapid change. The Société Le Nickel (SLN) was born there five years later, in 1880, and had never interrupted its activity there, even during the serious unrest of the 1980s, of which Thio was the epicenter.
But this time, the SLN considers itself “ forced to initiate the mothballing of its Thio sites, due to the absolute and lasting impediment to accessing them and exploiting the mines », writes the company’s general director, Guillaume Kurek, in a letter addressed to employees and consulted by AFP.
Significant damage since the May riots
The damage suffered in Thio by the SLN during the abuses which affected the New Caledonia from the beginning of May are significant: the conveyor which allowed the ore carriers to be loaded was completely destroyed by a fire, as were laboratories, offices and employees’ houses. Mining equipment, shovels, loaders, trucks were also set on fire, destroyed or stolen, resulting in “ a pure and simple impossibility of operating », specifies the SLN, which also points the finger “ blockages, threats, and repeated intrusions “.
In addition to the 230 employees, 120 subcontracting jobs, which according to the company represented 31 million euros in annual contracts, are threatened. “ The SLN is 140 years of Thio’s life. Hearing news like this is nothing to be happy about. », Reacted Jean-Patrick Toura, the mayor of the town, to AFP. “ The entire economy, our stores, our markets depend on the mine », concludes the mayor of Thio.
A nickel industry already in great difficulty
The violence which affected New Caledonia had particularly disastrous consequences on the nickel industryalready in great difficulty well before May 13, the date the unrest began.
Exacerbated competition from Indonesia has forced many giants in the sector to put mines and metallurgical sites on hold, particularly in Australia. In New Caledonia, this crisis is aggravated by the high cost of electricity, of which metallurgy is very consuming. At the end of August, due to lack of a buyer, the Koniambo Nickel SAS factoryin the north of the territory, was forced to close its doors, leaving 1,700 employees behind.
SLN is also in the red and its majority shareholder, the French group Eramet, has indicated on several occasions that it no longer wants to finance its subsidiary.
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