Koniambo nickel operation. Photo: Image courtesy of Glencore.
New Caledonia's nickel industry is once again under the spotlight with one of its mines set to be mothballed in the coming days.
Mining giant Glencore announced on Monday, it has decided to put its Koniambo nickel mining operation in the Northern Province into "care and maintenance" status and further seek to sell its 49 percent stake in the company which has accumulated a staggering $14 billion in losses over the past ten years.
In a release from its Swiss headquarters, the Anglo-Swiss company announced the transition would involve keeping the furnaces "hot" for the next six months as it looks to "initiate a process to identify a potential new industrial partner" for the mining and processing site.
Patrick Decloitre from RNZ's French Pacific desk has been following developments and he spoke with RNZ Pacific Editor Koroi Hawkins who began by asking for some background on the mine.
