INCO in Paradise

Between 1960 and 1990 the Canadian mining giant International Nickel (INCO) sought to establish operations in New Caledonia, a French-controlled Pacific archipelago that holds some of the world’s richest nickel reserves. What might have seemed a straightforward mining venture quickly became a flashpoint: New Caledonians pressed for control over their political and economic future, while France regarded INCO’s presence as a challenge to its sovereignty.

The ultimate frustration of INCO’s Pacific ambitions is a case study in the entangled forces of colonial power, global capital, and local resistance that marked the late twentieth century. INCO in Paradise offers fundamental insights into the actions of a Canadian corporate behemoth and its place within broader colonial and decolonial currents. Drawing on archival research conducted in four countries, the book ties together the history of New Caledonia; INCO’s role in debates over New Caledonian autonomy and their impact on Canada-France relations; the failure of the Compagnie française industrielle et minière du Pacifique (COFIMPAC), an experimental joint venture; and INCO’s interest in the Tiébaghi project. New Caledonian sources, which foreground the voices and urgent concerns of the country’s people, contribute a particularly valuable element.

Set against the turbulence of the global nickel market, INCO’s experiences in New Caledonia reveal a transnational history whose effects are still felt today in the independence referendums of 2018–21 and the political upheaval of 2024. INCO in Paradise is a vital account of the history of New Caledonia, the global mining industry, and the transnational dimensions of Canadian business history.