He spent a year at the head of the SLN. Jérôme Fabre was the guest of the news this Friday evening. Before Guillaume Kurek, his successor, takes office on June 1, a look back at his second mandate at the head of the Nickel Company.
In a month, he will leave his post as general director of the SLN. Jérôme Fabre stayed for a year at the head of the Caledonian company, a subsidiary of the Eramet group.
A period during which difficulties accumulated, between the closure of the Poum site, increased competition from Indonesia and the critical financial situation of the company. Interview with Thérèse Waïa.
NC the 1st: You stayed a year for this stay, four years for the first. Last Friday, we heard Sylain Néa, boss of the CSTNC, asking for the departure of the current management team, believing that what happens to the SLN is his responsibility. Did the union organization get your head?
Jérôme Fabre: I do not believe that Sylvain Néa was appointed CEO of the Eramet group. Be serious. This has been planned for a long time and I am very happy to hand over to Guillaume Kurek, who is my deputy. I know him very well and he will be able to meet the challenges of the SLN.
At Poum, we are in the process of resuming operations. We have a file in progress. There will be a public inquiry in the coming weeks. And so we are cautiously optimistic.
Jérôme Fabre, director of the SLN
What are the challenges that you faced during this year in office?
Beyond the global nickel crisis, the point that I would highlight is really Poum’s affair, the closure of this mining center which was imposed on us. Four hundred families lost their jobs… It’s a lot of emotion. I met the people from Poum. It was a very difficult moment. We are in the process of resuming operations. We have a file in progress. There will be a public inquiry in the coming weeks. And so we are cautiously optimistic.
The standoff with the president of the Northern province over financial guarantees, is this too much difficulty?
It’s not a showdown. We had an irregularity. A bit like the driving license, there is an operating license. Financial guarantees are car insurance. We have always been assured. We always had financial guarantees but they were too short. We got into compliance and were therefore able to resume operations at the start of the week.
Where are we today with the resumption of SLN activity on its mining sites?
The sites have resumed. Our Contrakmine subcontractors have returned to work. There are still two specific points, in Kouaoua and Thio, which I hope will be resolved in the coming days.
This year 2024 was marked by strong declarations from the from Christel Bories, CEO of Eramet, who insisted on the country’s mining vocation and the need for smelters that are losing money to close. Eramet has also reiterated its decision not to invest again in SLN. Faced with all this, how does the SLN see its future?
I think we must reiterate that we are facing a global crisis. It imposes itself on all the actors. Factories are closing in all countries. We must resist by making wise decisions. The solution for us is really the nickel pact, cheap energy, access to resources, stability… That’s the right path. And Christel Bories launched an alert. We, at SLN, need Eramet. They help us, support us, with financial guarantees, with WCR measures [besoin en fonds de roulement, NDLR], with fuel oil boats… They agreed to transform their debt into quasi-equity. They are by our side, we need them and things are going very well.
The solution is: cheap, abundant and, in the world of the 21st century, decarbonized energy, legal fiscal stability with clear rules of the game and access to the resource.
Jérôme Fabre, director of the SLN
What is the lasting solution that your successor will have to work on?
It goes through the nickel pact. Faced with this tidal wave of low-cost nickel from the Indonesians, we must react. The solution is: cheap, abundant and, in the world of the 21st century, decarbonized energy, legal fiscal stability with clear rules of the game and access to the resource. If we want to save the factories, we must be able to put ore in our furnaces. Closing the mines, as has happened over the last seventeen days, must be stopped. And this is what is planned in the nickel pact.
The subject is not to look for the culprits in Caledonia or at Eramet. It’s really about making the right decisions to save our factories.
Jérôme Fabre, director of the SLN
A special commission was created in Congress to study this nickel pact. When will you be heard?
Monday. We see this in a positive light. Political leaders will detail the pact, learn about the difficulties, listen to mayors, people on the ground, industrialists. It is very important to us that they understand our situation. The subject is not to look for the culprits in Caledonia or at Eramet. It’s really about making the right decisions to save our factories.
If you had one word to say before leaving, what would it be?
What I would really like is for Caledonia, which last year was the third nickel producing country, to be proud of this industry and to be proud to contribute to the global challenge of ecological transition because that is really the challenge. of humanity and this 21st century.
