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Nickel miner Prony Resources New Caledonia
has brought its staff back onsite as it prepares to restart output after a
six-month suspension triggered by riots in the French territory.
The company, which operates the Goro mine
and a plant producing battery-grade nickel, returned workers to facilities on
Monday, a spokesperson said. It’s now in a position to
prepare to resume activities, the spokesperson said.
The company is one of three major nickel
producers in New Caledonia, a remote archipelago in the South Pacific. The
local industry is vital to the islands’ economy, but
was pushed to the brink of collapse by a slump in prices last year that was
triggered by a boom in Indonesian production.
This year, the islands’ worst civil unrest in decades worsened the situation, damaging
mines and disrupting output at processing plants. The French government is
still seeking a deal to put the industry on a steadier footing, with the help
of subsidies and investment in renewable energy.
Prony aims to return to output of 3,500
tons of product a month, though it couldn’t yet confirm
a planned restart date, the spokesperson said. The plant makes so-called NHC, a
mix of nickel and cobalt chemicals that are used in electric-vehicle batteries.