Already entangled in difficult political discussions on its institutional future, New Caledonia has no other choice but to look into another issue as crucial as it is sensitive, that of nickel, the economic lifeblood of the archipelago today. very bad. “It’s urgent, it’s a matter of weeks”before one of the three metallurgical factories closed, tirelessly repeated the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, during his three-day trip to New Caledonia, which began on Saturday November 25, before presenting , Monday November 27, its rescue plan for manufacturers and local elected officials.
The historic player, Société Le Nickel, (SLN), present for more than one hundred and forty years in the territory, has a debt of 493 million euros and its main shareholder, Eramet, announced that it would no longer finance its subsidiary, on the verge of cessation of payments. According to our information, the French mining group simply wants to leave New Caledonia.
In the South, Prony Resources, owned by local interests and the Swiss trader Trafigura, took over the hydrometallurgical site previously held by the Brazilian Vale two years ago, and immediately announced its orientation towards the battery market for to electric cars in partnership with Tesla. The company is today under ad hoc mandate, with a debt estimated at 149 million euros at the end of 2022.
Acceleration of the energy transition
Finally, the Koniambo Nickel SAS (KNS) rebalancing project, 51% owned by the Northern province, breaks all records with 13.7 billion euros of debt. If until now the Anglo-Swiss Glencore (which alone bears the debt, under the terms of the partnership agreement with the province) had absorbed the hazards encountered by KNS, it announced in September its intention to withdraw in February 2024 if “no new financing solution had been found by then. »
The difficulties of metallurgists are known: too high cost of energy for these “electro-intense” factories dependent on fossil fuels, whose prices have soared since February 2022; underproduction, whether due to technical problems, climatic hazards or the drop in grades, that is to say the level of pure metal contained in the raw ore; High labor cost compared to Asian competitors.
An overwhelming observation noted in a report from the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) published at the beginning of July: it recommends the reorientation of New Caledonian nickel towards the battery market, particularly from European manufacturers, as well as the acceleration of the energy transition , in order to lower costs and position local production in the niche “green nickel” market. Solutions “who do not respond [aux] short-term financing issues »however noted the IGF.
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