The end of an emblematic factory. Lacking a buyer, Koniambo Nickel SAS, a flagship project for the development of northern New Caledonia, is ceasing its activity this Saturday. But its approximately 1,200 employees want to believe that the activity is not dead. In the KNS offices in Voh (north), the last employees are putting their belongings in boxes. A small group greets each other one last time, before passing through the security gate and handing in their badges.
On hold since February, the Koniambo Nickel SAS nickel production plant, a symbol for 11 years of the region’s economic development born of the political will of the separatists, has not managed to find a buyer within the six months allocated by the raw materials giant, Glencore. The latter, a 49% shareholder in the site, has decided to sell this plant with an innovative process, backed by an exceptional mining massif but a real financial abyss.
Since construction work began in 2007, KNS has accumulated an abysmal debt of more than 13 billion euros. A liability entirely assumed by Glencore, under the terms of the shareholder agreement linking it to the Société minière du Pacifique Sud (SMSP), representing the interests of the northern province. So, in a context of a global nickel crisis and rising energy costs, Glencore decided to throw in the towel.
“We say see you soon to KNS, not goodbye”
Negotiations are underway with at least two potential buyers, according to SMSP, maintaining its initial objective: to transform the ore locally for the benefit of the development of the province. The plant as it exists will stop in a few weeks, the time to lower the temperature of the furnaces heated to more than 1,600 °C. The vast majority of the 1,235 employment contracts ended this Saturday.
“Today, we say see you soon at KNS, not goodbye,” assures Thomas Walolo, 35. This health and safety supervisor grew up with this project “born before us and which allowed the development of the entire region.” “As long as there are people who believe in it, it will exist, that’s all.”
Sarah Eurisouke, 42, an environmental engineer, is part of this “KNS generation”. The plant, promised in 1966 by General De Gaulle, was a dream for her parents’ generation, before the project came to fruition with the Noumea Agreement in 1998, to develop the north, deserted compared to the south and Noumea, concentrating most of the economic activity.
An employee of the company for fifteen years, Sarah Eurisouke is “proud to have participated in this world-class project (…) to develop mining and metallurgy while trying to have a minimum impact on the environment”. She is one of the fifty employees who will continue to work there, mainly for maintenance and security tasks. She also wants to believe in it: “it will resume. It has to, for Caledonia, for the region”.
Fear of a major social crisis
With its 1,200 direct jobs and at least 700 indirect jobs, the company is a local driving force. The population has increased by 40% since construction began in 2009. The number of companies in Voh, Koné and Pouembout, surrounding communes, has increased from 2,500 in 2005 to 4,000 today.
But once the furnaces are turned off, resuming metallurgical activity is unthinkable for a year and a half. “There are multiple possible scenarios. A buyer has an interest in restarting an activity, even partial, very quickly,” believes Alexandre Rousseau, vice-president of KNS. In any case, the employees have worked to ensure that the site presents itself in its best light: lawns mowed, no waste, repainted signage, etc.
Outside the factory, there are fears of a major social crisis. “We are worried, we wonder if we will be next,” fears Ketty, a cashier in a store in Koné. “A lot of people have left. And those who stay buy less.”
The site’s employees are not yet on the job market, but Cap emploi, which manages job seekers in the Northern Province, has already recorded an increase in the number of registrants and a decrease in offers due to the cessation of subcontracting since February. As a result, Cap emploi has fewer than 180 positions to offer, for a total of 1,700 people actively looking for work.