How a mining dispute in New Caledonia inflamed tensions between pro-French loyalists and Indigenous Kanaks SunSunday 13 updated SunSunday 13 Independent Kanak flags were placed on a roadblock outside of Noumea. ( Share Print text only Cancel Violence has shaken the usually serene archipelago of New Caledonia after the sale of a massive nickel mine to the French Pacific territory's south. Key points: They want the mine to be owned by a domestic company New Caledonia is set to hold its third and final referendum on independence from France by 2022 Cars have been set alight, a mining site evacuated as protesters turned up with weapons, and armed activists waving French flags have put in place roadblocks in some districts.