Kanak groups opposed to the latest sale plan of New Caledonia's Vale nickel plant have blocked road access to the site at Goro in the south of the main island.
A photo taken on May 27, 2015 shows Brazilian Vale's nickel processing plant of Goro in southern New Caledonia. Photo: AFP PHOTO / FRED PAYET
The move came after Vale announced that it had entered into a four-week exclusive negotiation phase with a new consortium.
The head of the Vale operation in New Caledonia, Antonin Beurrier, said a new entity, called Prony Resources, was set to acquire the assets held by Vale of Brazil in a deal worth $US1.2 billion.
However, several indigenous Kanak leaders insist that talks be held with Sofinor of the Northern province for it and its partner Korea Zinc to be given the option to buy the plant.
Vale dismissed the bid and, with support from the French government, it is now dealing with Prony Resources.
In the consortium, 50 percent is proposed to be held by New Caledonian stakeholders, made up of provincial interest, Vale employees and civil society groups.
25 percent is earmarked for a Swiss commodity trader, Trafigura, while the remaining 25 percent would be held by a range of investors.
The Kanak groups blocking the road have warned that they will uphold their action for the four weeks of the planned contract negotiation with Prony Resources.
In September, Vale's planned sale to New Century Resources failed and the company said it would close the plant if no buyer was found by the end of October.
Beurrier said the next five years' production of Nickel Hydroxyde Cake was already sold as the demand for nickel was about to explode.
The nickel sector, with its 35 mines and three processing plants, accounts for about 20 percent of the jobs in New Caledonia.
New Caledonia is the fourth biggest nickel ore producer in the world and the seventh largest nickel producer.
