Eramet is a major stakeholder in New Caledonia's nickel industry, being the owner of Société Le Nickel (SLN), the French territory's oldest nickel mine and smelter operator. Photo: SLN Eramet
French mining giant Eramet has announced major changes in its leadership.
The company is a major stakeholder in New Caledonia's nickel industry, being the owner of Société Le Nickel (SLN), the French territory's oldest nickel mine and smelter operator.
Eramet's current chair/chief executive Christel Bories will relinquish her CEO position, only to retain her role as chair.
The changes are expected to become effective at Eramet's shareholder's general meeting, scheduled on 27 May, Eramet said in a release.
The new director general/CEO will be Paulo Castellari.
French mining giant Eramet chairperson Christel Bories. Photo: Supplied/Eramet
Castellari, 55, is described as a dual Brazilian and Italian citizen "with over 30 years' experience in mining and metals as well as in the fertilizers and energy industries".
"During his international career in South and North America, Europe and Africa, he has held senior leadership positions in different mining companies, with a strong focus on operations, finance and complex projects management", Eramet points out.
He also held key positions in Brazilian entities, specialising in the mining industry (iron).
The new organisational definition and governance modus operandi is said to respond to new orientations in the group, with a larger part for international expertise and international development.
Bories stated Eramet welcomed Castellari's "commercial and financial background, his strong experience in managing complex operations in the mining and metals industry".
Castellari said his role would be to pursue Eramet's "profound transformation" in recent years under Bories' leadership, with a strong focus on diversification and "positioning itself as a recognized player in responsible mining."
Paulo Castellari appointed CEO of Eramet mining group. Photo: Supplied/Eramet
Bories became Eramet's CEO in 2017.
She has since led a process of implementation towards a major shift in the group's strategy with a strong focus on the production of minerals for the emerging electric vehicle batteries market.
This materialised through the development of a lithium mine in Argentina, which entered into production late 2024.
Speaking to international media last week, Bories assured it was her decision to relinquish the CEO role to devote more time to personal projects, adding she had no health issues and had the full support of the board.
'Eramet not financing SLN anymore'
In relation to Eramet's New Caledonian Société Le Nickel (SLN) assets (several mining sites and one smelter near Nouméa), at its latest investor presentation, in January 2025, the group clearly stated that it was "not financing SLN anymore".
It also clarified that SLN's cash needs no longer had an impact on Eramet's balance sheet "thanks to financing from the French State".
This was as a result of the conversion of the French State's existing loans to SLN (€260m as of 31st December 2023) into undated (deeply) subordinated bonds ("TSDI").
Also, in 2024, agreements were signed with the French State to convert debts of respectively €60m and €80m into de facto liabilities, no longer appearing in the "debts" column.
Eramet's shareholding includes APE - Agence des Participations de l'Etat - (French State, 27.1 percent) and STCPI - Société Territoriale Calédonienne de Participation Industrielle - (an entity owned by New Caledonia's provinces, 4 percent).
New Caledonia nickel's future
One year ago, late February 2024, Bories made international headlines when, during an interview with The Financial Times, she predicted that Eramet's subsidiary SLN (Société Le Nickel) in New Caledonia, would be probably be included in those nickel mining sites and smelters at risk of being "wiped out...within five years" because of its "lack of competitivity" and the emergence of Indonesia as a major high quality and low cost producer.
She anticipated that by 2030, Indonesia could end up accounting for more than three-quarters of the world's highest class of pure nickel.
"I very much doubt that many governments can be found who still want to massively subsidise...to compete with Indonesian production," she said.
Bories also clearly affirmed that Eramet would "never" consider fresh investments in New Caledonia's nickel.
She further suggested that New Caledonia should prepare to transition to a more tourism and agriculture oriented economy.
"Frankly, in the past, (New Caledonia) has relied too much on nickel, because it was the way to get easy money", she said.
She further recommended that New Caledonia's future nickel industry should solely focus on profitable extraction mining and terminate the cash-bleeding nickel processing smelters.
As a result, she foresaw, New Caledonia could transform into a "nickel mining only" territory.
As part of its diversification process, Eramet also holds interests in operations in Indonesia's Weda Bay, now regarded as the world's largest nickel mine.
