There has been another small rally in New Caledonia against the planned sale of the Vale nickel plant to a consortium led by a Swiss-based commodity trader, Trafigura.
A photo taken on May 27, 2015 shows Brazilian Vale's nickel processing plant of Goro in southern New Caledonia. Photo: AFP PHOTO / FRED PAYET
Kanak groups at the Goro site in the south of the main island said they would block access to the plant if the foreign bid was approved.
An announcement is expected any day.
Last week, thousands of people marched in Noumea, insisting that Vale enter in a due diligence process with Sofinor of the Northern province whose bid with Korea Zinc had been rejected by Vale.
The Kanak groups, made up of local chiefs and pro-independence politicians, insist that the nickel ore be processed in New Caledonia and not exported.
However, they failed to be received by the French overseas minister Sebastien Lecornu who was in New Caledonia last week.
Vale said it would shut the plant if there was no buyer by the end of October.
Last week's rally in Noumea Photo: FB ICAN
In September, Vale's planned sale to New Century Resources of Australia failed after months of negotiations.
The nickel sector with its 35 mines and three processing plants accounts for about 20 percent of the jobs in New Caledonia.
New Caledonia is the fourth biggest nickel ore producer in the world and the seventh largest nickel producer.