Pacific / New Caledonia

SLN quarters broken into in New Caledonia

13:55 pm on 8 April 2020

Reports from New Caledonia say a group of men broke into the staff quarters of the SLN nickel compamy in Kouaoua, setting a house on fire and burning a vehicle.

The media reports said about five individuals broke into several houses at night, including the home of the site manager.

The conveyor belt at the Kouaoua mine. Photo: SLN

The reports said the families living there had been evacuated.

There were no reports of any injuries.

The nightly attack came amid a restriction on movements because of the Covid-19 outbreak.

To contain lawlessness, a nightly curfew had been declared in Dumbea, near Noumea.

SLN's Kouaoua site, which is on the east coast of the main island, had been a frequent target for arson attacks, in particular in 2018 when operations were interrupted for weeks.

The site provided ore for the smelter in Noumea.