This year, the ERAMET Groupe’s New Caledonian subsidiary, SLN again took part in the Earth Hour, an event organized by the WWF for nearly then years, aimed at asking citizens, authorities and businesses to turn off their lights for 1 hour to fight against climate change.
Just like ERAMET, SLN is engaged in an approach to preserve the environment. As part of this approach, the corporation decided to participate in the 7th edition of the Earth Hour, making a new gesture for the planet by turning off all the lights on its 1,500-meter sea conveyor, at Tiébaghi, in the north of New Caledonia. An operation that went well beyond the WWF’s event that took place on March 28, 2015, between 20.30 and 21.30, since it has been set up in place since mid-March, except during loading of an ore carrier. This conveyor is used to move nickel ore quarried at Tiébaghi to the ships that transport it.
In the absence of this lighting, a beacon equipped with a luminous signal that can be seen four nautical miles away protects the sea conveyor against ships. The interest is twofold: reducing very strongly the impact of light pollution on birds, including the petrels of Tahiti and Pacific puffins, endemic and protected species nesting on the massif of Tiébaghi, and reducing the consumption of energy and therefore the carbon footprint of the Tiébaghi mine.
Last year, SLN turned off its Népoui mine conveyor for this same event.
