Caledonia mine firm needs 3,000 Pinoys

At least 3,000 Filipinos will be hired to work in a large-scale mining project in Southern New Caledonia, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) disclosed yesterday.

The DFA said the Philippine consulate general in Sydney, Australia reported to Manila that executives of INCO-GORO Nickel Co. of New Caledonia have given assurances that the workers’ welfare would be protected.

Consul general Ma. Theresa Lazaro of the Sydney consulate said in her report that the INCO executives gave this commitment during a media conference in Noumea, the capital of Caledonia, last Dec. 13.

The workers will come in batches and their deployment will be facilitated by top Philippine engineering companies AG&P and EEI Philippines.

They will be heavily involved in the construction of a nickel and cobalt mining processing plant in Southern New Caledonia. The project is expected to be complete by the end of 2007.

Lazaro joined INCO executives on a tour of the site, which includes a 2,500-bedroom dormitory, a medical facility, community rooms and a mess hall.

"We are proud to contribute our share in the future development of New Caledonia. We hope that this paves the way for future areas of cooperation that would be ultimately beneficial to all," she said.

INCO is a Canadian majority-owned company in partnership with Sumitomo Japan and is considered to be the biggest nickel mining company in the world.

New Caledonia is an autonomous French territory in the South Pacific. It is 1,991 kilometers northeast of Sydney. It has one of the largest sources of nickel, supplying 25 percent of the world demand.