Eramet

Eramet is a French multinational mining and metallurgy company, listed on the Euronext Paris exchange under the symbol ERA.

Eramet S.A.

Company type	Société Anonyme
Traded as	Euronext Paris: ERA CAC Mid 60 Component
ISIN	FR0000131757
Industry	Basic resources
Predecessor	Société de Traitement des Minerais de Nickel, Cobalt et Autres Higginson et Hanckar
Founded	18 May 1880
Headquarters	Paris, France
Key people	Christel Bories (Chairman and CEO)
Products	Mining and extraction of manganese, steel alloys and nickel
Revenue	€3,652 million (2017)[1]
Operating income	€608 million (2017)[1]
Net income	€203 million (2017)[1]
Total assets	€3.269 million (end 2017)[1]
Number of employees	12,590 (end 2017)[2]
Website	www.eramet.com/en

The company produces non-ferrous metals and derivatives, nickel alloys and superalloys, and high-performance special steels.

Through its subsidiary Société Le Nickel (SLN),^[3] the company has its historical roots in nickel mining, and for over 100 years has maintained a large mining operation in the French overseas territory of New Caledonia. It is also a major producer of manganese from mines in Gabon.^{[citation needed]}

Eramet's chairman and CEO as of 2017 was Christel Bories and its headquarters is in Paris.^[4]

History

The company was founded with the funding of the Rothschild family (although they were careful to avoid being listed as founders of the company) in 1880. With discretion, the family took full control of the company in 1890.^[5]

Between 1907 and 2007 the Aubert & Duval organization of Issoire France was owned by Eramet and formed part of its alloy division. The subsidiary was purchased by a consortium of Airbus, Safran and Tikehau Capital.^[6]

In 2023, a worldwide fall in nickel prices exacerbated shortfalls in SLN's balance sheets, with ERAMET and the French government refusing to subsidise SLN.^[7]

Activities

Eramet is organised into three activities:

• ERAMET Manganese (48% of the group's turnover):^[8] Eramet's subsidiary Comilog extracts manganese in the Moanda mine in Gabon and then transforms it in its metallurgical and chemical factories located in China, in Europe and in the United States.^[9]
• ERAMET Alloys (32% of the group's turnover):^[8] Eramet elaborates special steels and superalloys as well as wrought pieces for the aeronautical and energy sectors.^[10]
• ERAMET Nickel (20% of the group's turnover):^[8] Eramet's subsidiary, Le Nickel-SLN extracts nickel in five mines in New Caledonia, mainly to produce stainless steel.^[11]

Global presence

Eramet’s 47 sites are divided across the five continents as follows:^[8]

• 22 in Europe, among which 13 in France
• 13 in Asia and Pacific
• 7 in North America
• 2 in Latin America
• 4 in Africa

Joint Ventures

• In 2012 Eramet subsidiary Aubert & Duval teamed up with Setforge and QuEST to start SQUAD, a closed-die forging company in India^[12]

Corporate governance

Christel Bories, Eramet’s CEO, is at the head of the Board of Directors, which comprises nineteen members appointed for four years.^[13]

The Executive Committee has eight members.^[13]

Controversies

Eramet has business interests in Halmahera island in Indonesia, where mining is threatening the survival of the uncontacted Togutil people, also known as the Hongana Manyawa.^[14] Eramet manages operations at the PT Weda Bay Nickel mine, the largest nickel mine in the world.^[15]

According to Survival International, there are around 3,500 Hongana Manyawa, and around 500 of them are uncontacted and refuse interactions with outsiders.^[16] In October 2023, a video was released that showed uncontacted Hongana Manyawa warning logging companies to stay away from their lands as bulldozers destroyed their forest.^[17] In June 2024, footage emerged of hungry members of the Hongana Manyawa asking miners at the Weda Bay Nickel mine for food after being forced off their lands.^[18]