SLN, an ERAMET Groupe subsidiary that mines and processes nickel, wants the general public to know more about its activities. So it regularly holds open days on its sites in New Caledonia.
On the last Thursday of every month, SLN organises a free tour of its Doniambo metallurgical plant on Nouméa bay. Small Groupes of visitors can discover the main stages in the pyrometallurgical process that converts nickel ore into ferronickel and matte. The view of the port facilities where SLN’s huge ore carriers come and go all year round and the impressive spectacle of molten metal tapping are two of the tour’s highlights. This initiative began several years ago. In 2012 around 1,250 people took part, including several school trips.
SLN is also the only company in New Caledonia to host tours of a working mine, at Thio in the South-East of the island. The world nickel industry was born here in the 1870s. SLN’s historical centre is still operating the mine more than 130 years later. Every month, the local tourist office organises a paying tour that outlines Thio’s history and the mine’s architectural heritage. For this tour an SLN manager welcomes visitors and shows them the ore extraction activity at the Plateau mine.
In North-West New Caledonia, the Tiébaghi mining centre is open for tours on exceptional occasions such as Koumac fair (200 visitors in 2012). To enjoy a panoramic view of the mine, visitors are taken to the top of the main stockpile, SLN’s biggest such structure for storing mine tailings. The former mining village, famous for chrome operations that began in 1901, is open to the public through paying tours organised by Koumac tourism office and an organisation for the preservation of New Caledonia’s mining heritage.
These completely safe tours are obviously very informative. For SLN’s guides, they’re also an opportunity to share their passion for mining and metallurgical professions!
