The nickel sector in New Caledonia, in great difficulty despite the strategic importance of this metal in the energy transition, will be the subject of "work meetings" this week and from Monday September 4 at the Ministry of the Economy and Finance, we learned Sunday from Bercy.
These discussions take place in a framework where the future of the archipelago will be discussed more broadly, while the government wishes to bring separatists and non-independentists to the same table.
An audit by the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) and the General Council for the Economy (CGE), made public on August 1, questioned the strategy concerning nickel, which does not allow companies that extract this component used in particular in the batteries of electric vehicles.
In an attempt to move forward on this subject, "several working meetings at the technical level with the various stakeholders on the subject of nickel" will be held "in Bercy this week" and this from Monday, the ministry told AFP. AFP.
"The objective is to try to implement the guidelines given" by President Emmanuel Macron during his trip to Nouméa at the end of July.
In Noumea, Mr. Macron had promised a "nickel project for the future" to make the factories that exploit this ore profitable. At stake, state funding for an "overhaul of the energy sector" in order to provide "competitive" and "carbon-free" electricity.
While nickel is one of the strategic metals most in demand on world markets due to the energy transition, the three companies that produce it in New Caledonia (la Société le Nickel / SLN, Koniambo Nickel SAS and Prony) suffered losses for twelve years, according to the report in early August.
To become profitable, they must be able to increase the production of their factories to reach their nominal capacity while reducing their costs, which are high compared to international competition, according to the report, which also recommends the conversion of two factories producing ferronickels mainly used in stainless alloys to the production of nickel usable in batteries.
Finally, the energy used by New Caledonian manufacturers is particularly carbon-intensive and represents a cost that is much higher than the production units of their Indonesian competitors.
The necessary investments are estimated at 4,15 billion euros for the conversion of the two existing coal-fired power plants into gas-fired power plants, the development of photovoltaic energy, storage via batteries and energy transfer stations by pumping .
Costly solutions that can only be supported by the state, recognized President Emmanuel Macron in Nouméa at the end of July.
