2023-09-28 14:42:40
It was with a certain amazement that the New Caledonians discovered, on the 1stis August, the content of the report from the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) and the General Economic Council on the future of the nickel sector in the archipelago. The particularly gloomy document regarding the prospects of the three metallurgical factories was presented on the occasion of Emmanuel Macron’s official visit to New Caledonia.
A visit which was part of discussions on the institutional future of this territory which depends very largely on nickel, since it concentrates almost a quarter of jobs in the private sector. In his speech at the Place des Cocotiers, in Nouméa, the Head of State announced his intention to support the sector by financing energy investments, on the condition that a “nickel project of the future” is defined.
Therefore, the announcement, Wednesday September 27, of the Anglo-Swiss Glencore, shareholder and financier of Koniambo Nickel (KNS), which intends “to stop financing the operations of the North factory at the end of February 2024 if no new financing solution is identified”, was a semi-surprise for the management of the Société minière du Sud Pacifique (SMSP), the majority public shareholder of KNS, held by the Northern province.
“The signals are very encouraging”
This eminently political project, obtained by the separatists through the Bercy agreement concluded in 1998 in the wake of that of Nouméa, experienced numerous technical difficulties. The significant delays slowed down the ramp-up of the plant with a nominal capacity of 60,000 tonnes of ferronickel and led to KNS indebtedness of around 13.7 billion euros. Over the last two years, the IGF recorded losses of around 2 billion euros.
“There will be no short-term impact on the payroll. We have the budget to finance five months of normal operation”, explains Alexandre Rousseau, director of human resources and communications at KNS. The latter spent Wednesday reassuring unions, subcontractors and customary representatives. Its priority is to demonstrate that the full production capacity of the factory can be achieved, essential to becoming profitable. “The signals are very encouraging, we have never produced so much”specifies Mr. Rousseau.
“Glencore didn’t say it was leaving. He is also attached to this project and to the assets it represents in his accounts”, declares Karl Therby, CEO of SMSP, who also wants to be reassuring. The end of financing does not mean an overnight departure of the shareholder, he assures. The Anglo-Swiss giant is instead considering putting the factory on standby, but “there are more or less progressive maintenances », Notes Mr. Therby, whose first concern is employment. The outlines of a shelving should be the subject of discussions between shareholders in mid-October in Switzerland.
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