A bet on nickel gave many New Caledonians hopes of prosperity and independence.
But when the economy turned, it left behind a ghost town full of broken hearts.
It was a symbol of economic freedom — offering a chance at prosperity for communities who shared little in New Caledonia’s wealth.
Standing tall by the turquoise waters of the French territory’s lagoons, the Koniambo nickel factory once hummed with activity, feeding the world’s insatiable demand for the lucrative metal.
Now, silence blankets its heavy machinery.
The site sits abandoned, its overseas workforce long gone, and its local staff — mostly Indigenous Kanak people — out of jobs.
Its owner, Koniambo Nickel Society (KNS), shut the factory and nearby mine down in August when minority stakeholder Glencore pulled out of the operation.
More than 1,200 people lost their jobs — and many haven’t found work since.
André Diela, a former contract delivery driver at the Koniambo factory, has returned to fishing and farming to survive.
“We are in the s**t. I shouldn’t say it like that… But it’s very difficult,” he says.
For many of New Caledonia’s Kanak people, the nickel factory and mine in the territory’s Northern Province meant more than a job.
It promised to rebalance an economy that concentrated wealth in the south, around the capital Nouméa.
Now, communities that counted on the Koniambo nickel factory for their livelihoods are searching for ways to plug an enormous gap.
And so far, there are no easy answers.
“You need to pay these days. Pay for food, water, electricity and rubbish collection,” Mr Diela says.
“You need a job.”
‘A deserted paradise’
Eight months since Koniambo’s operations came to a halt, business owners are feeling the impact in surrounding towns, including Voh, Koné and Pouembout (VKP).
Chantal Haoa, head chef at Auberge De Gaulle hotel, says her business is empty of the hungry mine workers who once crowded in between shifts.
She has already reduced her staff numbers to cope with the loss of business.
“It breaks my heart to see it like this. We’re in the middle of the forest. A corner of paradise.
“Now… a deserted piece of paradise.”
University of New Caledonia economist and associate professor Samuel Gorohouna says the closure of Koniambo has rippled through the surrounding economy.
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Towns such as Koné have lost up to 30 per cent of jobs.
The Koné business district was once full when employees at the mine clocked off.
“Now you can see … the parking is empty,” Dr Gorohouna says.
“It wasn’t like this ever in previous years.”
Sylvie Brier from Avenir Nord, an economic development group, says the crisis is challenging, but presents an opportunity to diversify the northern economy.
She says tourism and the agro-food industry hold potential for the Northern Province due to their focus on high quality products and local employment.
“We are involved in the prawn industry and have aquatic farms around Koné. This has been one of the most resistant industries to the recent crisis,” she says.
But Dr Gorohouna isn’t convinced.
“You can’t make 10 billion [Australian] dollars in tourism … nor with prawns.”
The difficulty of replacing the nickel industry has many wondering what will happen to the region if operations do not resume at Koniambo.
From boom to bust
The opening of Koniambo in 2014 brought on a boom in population for the VKP region.
Health services, transport and infrastructure improved throughout the region, far from New Caledonia’s economic activity in Nouméa.
“There’s been an extraordinary development of the area,” Dr Gorohouna says.
The nickel mine and factory, which is 51 per cent owned by the Northern Province Government investment branch Société Minière du Sud Pacifique (SMSP), once pumped up to 60,000 tonnes of valuable high-grade New Caledonian nickel every year.
With massive nickel reserves to mine, the Koniambo project offered the Northern Province a chance to cash in on the growing appetite for nickel fuelled by the global shift to battery-powered renewables.
But hopes of a nickel-led economic boom wilted as high production costs and competition from cheaper Indonesian suppliers left Koniambo with a staggering $US14 billion debt.
Jean-Louis Thydjepache, head of community relations at the site, says higher wages, greater environmental protection laws and community involvement have made it challenging for the mine to compete globally.
Then last year, the Koniambo factory turned off its smelters.
The giant ovens, which were once heated to 1,700 degrees Celsius, will need replacing brick-by-brick if they’re ever to restart, Mr Thydjepache says.
“It will take at least a year … maybe two to replace them,” he says.
Until then, the factory will remain shut.
‘A symbol of emancipation’
The Koniambo nickel mine is also closely tied to hopes of independence from France in New Caledonia.
After violent clashes between pro-independence and anti-independence groups in the 1980s, nickel mining operations were established in the north as a way to “rebalance” the economy and support the area’s development.
Since New Caledonia was colonised by France in 1853, much of the business and development has been concentrated in the Southern Province including Nouméa.
The territory’s Northern Province has a larger proportion of indigenous Kanak residents, compared to its southern counterpart.
For pro-independence supporters in the region, the Koniambo project was also a means of establishing economic independence from France.
Henriette Hmae, congresswoman and mayor of the far northern community of Poum, says the project started as an ambitious way to address inequalities in New Caledonia.
“[Koniambo] is a symbol because it was one of the principal tools for economic emancipation,” she says.
She believes its shutdown will not impact the independence movement in New Caledonia, which she says is about more than the success of one nickel mine.
“[Independence] is about the reclamation of Kanak identity and Indigenous people through the fight by all people of New Caledonia,” Ms Hmae says.
She considers independence as “opening up” New Caledonia to the world.
“At the moment, we are constrained by France to develop in the vision that France wants and in the interest of France,” she says.
After deadly riots rocked the territory in May last year over proposed voting changes and the ongoing question of independence from France, New Caledonia suffered an estimated 2 billion euros in damage.
The shutdown of Koniambo will make the road to economic recovery even longer.
‘There’s work to be done’
Many in the Northern Province still pin their hopes on Koniambo reopening.
While two potential buyers are circling — a Chinese and an Indian company — they’re yet to make a purchase.
Even if a buyer emerges, the path back to economic prosperity is likely to be long and difficult.
“A lot of the youth worked at the mine so our young people are annoyed,” Mr Diela says.
“We’d really like the operation to restart.”
Ms Haoa says all of New Caledonia would benefit.
“It would be great to find a buyer for the KNS mine,” she says.
“And not just for the people in the north but also in the south because lots of subcontractors who worked at the factory have had to leave.”
In the meantime, it is the resilience of the local population that will help them through the challenging year ahead.
“We have a Pacific way of life here which means part of your food comes from your crops and part of your food comes from fishing and hunting,” Dr Gorohouna, the University of New Caledonia economist, says.
For Mr Diela, the traditional ways of life have become more important than ever.
“I’m raising pigs and giving what I can to my family,” he says.
“An old man once told me there is no unemployment in the tribe.
“There is always work to be done.”
Watch The Pacific’s special on the Koniambo mine here on iView or on YouTube.
Credits
- Reporters: Cooper Williams and Yasmine Wright Gittins
- Photography: Yasmine Wright Gittins
- Videography & Drone: Nicolas Job
- Digital Producer: Doug Dingwall
Editor’s Note: This reporting was supported by the Sean Dorney Grant for Pacific Journalism through the Walkley Foundation.
