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closures","new-caledonia-faces-fresh-nickel-closures","article/new-caledonia-faces-fresh-nickel-closures",{"_uid":547,"date":548,"tags":549,"editor":553,"content":563,"excerpt":639,"featured":51,"reporter":640,"_editable":644,"component":645,"seo_title":543,"categories":646,"visibility":652,"author_company":49,"featured_image":653,"seo_description":639,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":657,"formattedArticleDate":658},"8e84672a-c88e-4542-a46f-f1867e69cfa3","2024-10-16 00:00",[550],{"slug":551,"name":552},"new-caledonia","New Caledonia",[554],{"slug":555,"name":556,"content":557},"matthew-bird","Matthew Bird",{"job_title":558,"image":559,"bio":561,"linkedin":562},"Senior Editor - Supply Chains & Data Visualisation",{"filename":560},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/14738033ec/matthew-bird.jpeg","Matthew writes, edits and produces content for Benchmark Intelligence and Benchmark Source across the whole mine to grid supply chain. He also acts as a liaison to the press. He has a PhD in electrochemistry from the University of Nottingham.","https://www.linkedin.com/in/birdmatthew/",{"type":564,"content":565},"doc",[566,573,593,600,605,614,619,624,629,634],{"type":567,"attrs":568,"content":569},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[570],{"text":571,"type":572},"New Caledonia’s embattled nickel industry is facing a deepening crisis. Eramet-owned Société Le Nickel (SLN) confirmed this week it had put some of its nickel mining operations in the French overseas territory on hold.","text",{"type":567,"attrs":574,"content":575},{"textAlign":49},[576,578,586,588],{"text":577,"type":572},"SLN management reported that maintaining operations had become untenable due to a series of blockades and disruptions ",{"text":579,"type":572,"marks":580},"since the island plunged into crisis in May.",[581],{"type":582,"attrs":583},"link",{"href":584,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":585},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/","url",{"text":587,"type":572}," Aside from the unrest, the island’s nickel sector has also faced financial strain from ",{"text":589,"type":572,"marks":590},"a global oversupply of nickel that has depressed prices.",[591],{"type":582,"attrs":592},{"href":584,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":585},{"type":594,"attrs":595,"content":597},"heading",{"level":596,"textAlign":49},4,[598],{"text":599,"type":572},"What is the current status of New Caledonia’s nickel sector?",{"type":567,"attrs":601,"content":602},{"textAlign":49},[603],{"text":604,"type":572},"Since the unrest began in May, SLN’s Doniambo ferronickel refinery has been operating at minimum capacity, while the Glencore-owned Koniambo ferronickel refinery and Prony Resources high pressure acid leach (HPAL) plant have remained suspended.",{"type":567,"attrs":606,"content":607},{"textAlign":49},[608],{"type":609,"attrs":610},"image",{"id":49,"alt":611,"src":612,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":613},"","https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfuVvFlxX9GcXIS5ZI4C6tWCmc7Q0a7siIKbltnP8evsD017FJxBDqa6GNkApRA1GIkPlcvtBf9x7ZROZnDEmejy9tup1L7NftL7URb3-sZoBQkN2dw45oY-YQ75fTeESORq7Zhfkiql_05lpnMdAnN4xWv?key=IraeBVCMjxKGP6xAVcDqDQ",{},{"type":567,"attrs":615,"content":616},{"textAlign":49},[617],{"text":618,"type":572},"“Some nickel mines in the region have slowly restarted, particularly in areas where miners have stronger relations with the local groups,” said Jorge Uzcategui, senior nickel analyst at Benchmark. “But there remains ongoing issues with power and water in the territory, making it difficult to economically run operations.”",{"type":594,"attrs":620,"content":621},{"level":596,"textAlign":49},[622],{"text":623,"type":572},"Could China step in?",{"type":567,"attrs":625,"content":626},{"textAlign":49},[627],{"text":628,"type":572},"With New Caledonia remaining gripped in long-standing unrest between pro and anti independence movements, a recently published report from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute examined China’s role in the region; noting that China has several direct interests in New Caledonia, owing to its large nickel reserves and its strategic position in the South Pacific.",{"type":567,"attrs":630,"content":631},{"textAlign":49},[632],{"text":633,"type":572},"The report highlighted the strategic risks posed by New Caledonian independence to France and its western allies. This included losing access to the territory’s nickel resources to China as the European Union undertakes a policy of re-industrialisation to de-risk its lithium ion battery supply chain.",{"type":567,"attrs":635,"content":636},{"textAlign":49},[637],{"text":638,"type":572},"Although China currently has no direct interests in the island’s nickel mines, it is the largest importer of New Caledonia’s nickel ore. Were New Caledonian independence to be achieved, the report suggested that Chinese firms were the most likely candidates to step in and ‘save’ the island’s struggling nickel industry.","New Caledonia’s embattled nickel industry is facing a deepening crisis. Eramet-owned Société Le Nickel (SLN) confirmed this week it had put some of its nickel mining operations in the French overseas territory on hold. SLN management reported that maintaining operations had become untenable due to a series of blockades and disruptions since the island plunged […]",[641],{"slug":555,"name":556,"content":642},{"job_title":558,"image":643,"bio":561,"linkedin":562},{"filename":560},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"8e84672a-c88e-4542-a46f-f1867e69cfa3\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[647,650],{"slug":648,"name":649},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals",{"slug":651,"name":150},"nickel","private",{"id":49,"alt":611,"name":611,"focus":611,"title":611,"source":611,"filename":654,"copyright":611,"fieldtype":655,"meta_data":656,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2016ec9f46/bm-istock-828136656.jpg","asset",{"alt":611,"title":611,"source":611,"copyright":611},"Oct 16, 2024","16th October 2024",[],[],1782484935898]