OUR IMMEDIATE NEIGHBOURS

• Yaté
• Mont-Dore
• Ile Ouen
• Ile des Pins
• The Djubea Kapone Traditional Area

In New Caledonia, the communities neighbouring the Vale Inco Nouvelle-Calédonie project are from the communes in the Djubea Kapone Traditional Area, and more particularly from Yaté and Mont-Dore. That is why Vale Inco Nouvelle-Calédonie works closely with representatives from these communes and their chieftains in order to identify their priorities and set up appropriate programmes or to offer its support to existing programmes.

The Vale Inco Nouvelle-Calédonie project's nearest neighbours are the four tribes from Yaté, the inhabitants of Mont-Dore, including inhabitants from the two tribes, and by extension inhabitants from Ile Ouen and the Ile des Pins, further south. These communes, together with the communes of Noumea, Païta and Dumbea, form part of the Djubea Kapone Area.

Yaté

In terms of surface area, Yaté is the biggest commune in New Caledonia. It has 1,843* inhabitants split into 400 households. The large majority of the community is Melanesian and lives mainly off farming, fishing and crafts.

The commune has four tribes: The Waho tribe that houses the Town Hall and the administrative buildings; the Unia Tribe that has the highest population; the Touaourou Tribe; and lastly the Goro Tribe that is the nearest to the Vale Inco Nouvelle-Calédonie site and that gave its name to the project. Indeed, it is the Goro Plateau's massif that is being mined.

Mont-Dore

Mont-Dore is New Caledonia’s second biggest commune in terms of the number of inhabitants it has (24,195*). Mont-Dore (from Mont d'or or Mountain of Gold) is a small town that is part of what is henceforth known as the Grand Noumea suburbs (Greater Noumea). The commune’s territory extends down to the Grand Sud (The great south), adjoining that of the commune of Yaté.
The Vale Inco Nouvelle-Calédonie plant that is to transform ore is being built in the Mont-Dore commune.

*figures as per the 2004 census.

Ile Ouen

The Ile Ouen where the Ouara Tribe lives is a small island next to Prony Bay, also to the South of the Grande Terre (New Caledonia’s main island), but on the East coast, bordering the West section of the Woodin Channel.

Ile des Pins

The Isle of Pines is an island located in the South of the Grande Terre. There are a lot of traditional and family links between the people of Yaté and those living on the Isle of Pines.

The Djubea Kapone Traditional Area

New Caledonia’s territory is divided into eight traditional areas that group together the territory’s chieftains. A Traditional Council is appointed for each area made up of representatives from the chieftains. Each Council appoints two of its members as delegates to the Traditional Senate the Assembly that groups together the eight Traditional Councils.

The Djubea Kapone Area