Second bid for New Caledonia's Vale nickel plant

A further bidder has come forward to acquire New Caledonia's Brazilian-owned Vale nickel plant. According to “Les Nouvelles Caledoniennes” the local company, Byms, plans to submit a purchase proposal, backed by an unidentified interest in Canada.

Vale put its 95 percent stake in the plant up for sale in December after running up losses in the hundreds of millions of dollars. After Vale’s deal with the Australian mining group New Century Resources failed, the company announced that unless a credible buyer emerged by end-October the site would close, which would affect nearly 1,300 employees, as well as hundreds of subcontractors out of work, and deprive local authorities of millions of euros in tax revenue.

The government of the South province, where the plant is located, said all efforts would be made to save the jobs at risk in order to prevent a meltdown of New Caledonia's economy. "This decision would lead to a complete collapse of New Caledonia's economy and its social security systems," said Sonia Backes, president of the South Province.

Coming at a time when volatile nickel prices and high production costs have pushed the main nickel miner and processor, Societe le Nickel (SNL), to the verge of bankruptcy, the factory's closure could sway many voters worried about the archipelago's future.

"Growth has stalled in the past three years, and the Covid-19 crisis has seriously worsened the situation," said Thibault Martelin, vice president of Medef, the employers' association. "The Vale closure would be a catastrophe, and the extent of its domino effects are difficult to imagine," he warned.

"With the referendum just three weeks away, we are following this matter very closely and we are indeed worried about the 3,000 jobs under threat," an official in the office of France's overseas minister Sebastien Lecornu told AFP.

On another note, the Northern Province's Sofinor company is still interested in acquiring the asset with support of its partner Korea Zinc.

Meanwhile, a committee has been formed after a meeting of New Caledonia's Congress to discuss the Vale nickel plant sale. It comprises members of the key institutions and aims to preserve the plant threatened by a shutdown within the next few weeks.

Source: https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/426046/second-bid-for-new-caledonia-s-vale-nickel-plant, https://au.news.yahoo.com/fate-nickel-factory-clouds-caledonias-031033440.html