Nickel, paradise and ‘emancipation’: Mining bust creates ghost town

ABC NEWS (Australia)

New Caledonia had one of the largest majority Indigenous owned mines in the world. But has now been paralysed by Indonesian nickel. Once a big part of redressing inequalities between the European and Indigenous Kanak populations, now lays silent. The ABC went to the Koniambo mine, in the north of the island to meet former workers and struggling local businesses.

Transcript

00:00Andre Dealer is wondering how he's going to make ends meet.

00:07We have to pay for water, electricity and waste collection. That requires a job. It's tough.

00:13Until recently, he worked at the Coniambo Nickel Plant, once one of the world's largest Indigenous owned mines.

00:20More than 1,200 people lost their jobs when the site began shutting down last year.

00:26People are in the s**t. I shouldn't say it like that, but there are no more jobs. It's very difficult.

00:32Jean-Louis Djidjapac is one of the handful still working here.

00:39It's sad. It impacts your conscience because you're used to seeing people around the site and now there's no one.

00:45Nearby, buildings and businesses that used to service the plant are abandoned.

00:51We had a normal occupancy rate of 50%. Then, when it shut down, vacancy jumped to 100%.

01:00The mine and its operations had a political significance too.

01:04Partly to help the local Indigenous Kanak population become more economically independent from France.

01:11They wanted to establish a factory in the north to help with reducing inequalities.

01:17Many are talking about branching out to other enterprises, but replacing nickel is a long-term challenge.

01:24Nickel production employs about a quarter of the New Caledonian workforce.

01:28The shutdown has come at a particularly challenging time for New Caledonia.

01:32The territory's economy is still reeling from violent protests over its political status with France.

01:39People are doing what they can now, despite an uncertain future.

01:43I raise pigs and then I give what I can to my family. That's community life.

01:50I'll say escut九n impediment.

01:59That's a truly dedication to the city of Spain.

02:02Well dah!

02:07There wasn't any problems with you in general.

02:10Like that this thing, I could call a young person as a heads-to-boyfriend.

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