'Excellent'
p. 18 · Read in the full issue
New Caledonian
Finances Are
From a Noumea Correspondent New Caledonia finances are in ex cellent shape according to the High Commissioner , Mr. Pechoux. In his speech at the budget session of the Assembly Territoriale in November he said that receipts had reached an all-time record, mainly through record exports of nickel, both smelted and in ore.
NICKEL mattes (almost pure nickel) had increased for the first nine months of this year to 11,360 tons, compared with about 6,000 tons for the corresponding period of 1959. Exports of ferro nickel (smelted nickel containing a percentage of iron) grew from 12,000 tons in 1959 to 32,000 tons in 1960.
Mr. Pechoux mentioned there was every prospect that exports of nickel ore to Japan would continue to be satisfactory for some time to come.
Japanese smelters had been ex tended and modernised to use New Caledonian ore with a maximum of three per cent, nickel, the maximum which could be exported.