Harold Martin, president of New Caledonia, said he wants Eramet unit Societe Le Nickel to be awarded the licence for a giant nickel deposit in the French overseas territory.
'The Prony deposit is available. We must arrange for SLN to get it,' Martin told a news conference.
The Prony West deposit, with 4 million tonnes of nickel ore, came into public ownership following a court decision at the end of last month to reverse the award of a permit to Brazil's Vale by the previous regional council of southern New Caledonia.
Martin said he wants to ensure the capital of Eramet remains in French and Caledonian hands.
This month the Duval family, who own 37 percent of Eramet, renewed a shareholders' pact with Areva which has a 26 percent stake.
'The Duvals want to sell and are in a hurry,' Martin was reported by Agence France-Presse as saying. He believes Prony West could provide development prospects for SLN, whose nickel deposits are running out.
He wants French state-owned bank Caisse des Depots to buy part of the Duval family's shareholding and to do a valuation of the Prony deposit.
New Caledonia's three provinces own a 34 percent stake in SLN and 4.13 percent in Eramet itself.
Source: Forbes
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