The alloys domestic production sites are mainly in France and Sweden

After the acquisition of Pechiney and Arcelor by foreign groups, Eramet is the last major French group and European present both in the high range metal alloys and metallurgy sector. It is a totally strategic sector for our large customers of the steel industry, aeronautics, energy production, not to mention some markets related to national defence.

Many non-energy raw materials have become just as strategic as energy raw materials. It is clear that the actors of the sector and States engage in a genuine economic war on the control of mineral resources across the globe. The attitude of China in Africa is quite indicative of a trend that will assert more: will of conquest at all costs for the control of these resources.

The race to the size and concentration is accentuated in recent years in our industries. The common objective of these movements of merger-acquisition is to take control of mining assets in immediate exploitation. Research and exploration of new deposits have been too much neglected by large mining groups over the past decades.

These massive movements of concentration including obeys a logic of creating "national champions", under the impulse of some States, such as the Russia, China or the Brazil.

"National champions" committed expansionist policies, beyond their borders, either by buying companies, or by taking control of mining assets. In this context, Europe must not be absent from this movement and should promote the strengthening of European champions as Eramet instead.

The France and Europe really have a strategy in these areas, to preserve and develop their positions over the long term to not be dependent on a small number of actors or dominant countries This issue is central because it seems to me essential that Europe shall retain in its territory of the leading companies in the field of the processing of minerals, metallurgy, special steels such as ours, otherwise it would face a dangerous dependency for users of high-quality steel, aviation, energy, national defence, as key sectors in which our country excels.

Eramet is a mining and metallurgical this French on five continents, employing approximately 16,000 people in 20 countries. For the most part, our mines are located in New Caledonia for nickel, and Gabon for manganese. These ores processing activities are located in Europe and the United States or China. The alloys domestic production sites are mainly in France and Sweden.

Eramet manages, in sales, fourth largest portfolio of mining and metallurgical assets worldwide in the specific field of metal alloys and high-performance alloys.

In this universe in a full consolidation, our goal is to continue to strengthen our role as supplier for our major clients. Over the next few years, we invest significantly to respond to their needs grow and gain market share.

This will involve increasing our resources by searching for new deposits, which will complement the full development of our New Caledonia and manganese nickel mines in Gabon and in developing new technologies in which the group is on the edge.

I would add an important politico-economic characteristic of Eramet: countries and territories where we are present are closely associated, economically, socially and in terms of governance, to its activities, through a very significant share, that this is in New Caledonia (Caledonian provinces hold 34 of the NLS, our nickel subsidiary) and Gabon (Gabonese State owns 25 of the Comilog)(, our local subsidiary manganese) or Indonesia tomorrow, if we develop our new nickel project. This is a feature of our group which appears to me to be a powerful asset in the long term to most of our competitors.

I am convinced that, in a context of rapid concentration of the sector non-energy raw materials, the France and Europe must absolutely have a mining and metallurgical group independent, guarantor of their security of supply in the strategic areas that I have just mentioned.