The board of Eramet's New Caledonia-based unit Société Le Nickel, orSLN, approved the conditions for a €200 million loan from the French governmentand is now in a position to finalize the deal.

In a July 11 statement, Eramet said the eight-year loan willbear a minimum interest rate of 4%, supplemented by progressive remunerationindexed to the EBITDA margin.

The loan was confirmed by French Prime Minister Manuel Valls in Aprilto help the business weather the market downturn and avoid bankruptcy.

According to Reuters, the new version of the loan agreementwill see the French government granting the loan directly to SLN, instead ofthe previous plan to channel it through the STCPI, a vehicle representing theNew Caledonian provinces and a 34% owner of SLN.

The newswire further said the state loan forms part of atwo-year rescue plan for the subsidiary, which also includes a of 25%.

Eramet owns a 56% interest in SLN, and the conditions forits previously announced €40 million financial contribution to the unit willhave the same terms as the state loan, to be approved by Eramet's board at aJuly 27 meeting.