Noranda
Encyclopedia
Noranda Inc. was a mining
and metallurgy
company originally from Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec
, Canada
. It was listed on the TSX
under the symbol NRD.LV. After eventually acquiring a large interest in rival mining company Falconbridge
, it merged with that company in 2005. The combined company continued under the name Falconbridge Limited, ending the Noranda name. Only one year later in 2006 Falconbridge was acquired by the Swiss
-based mining company Xstrata
.
to exploit the Horne deposit, discovered by Edmund Henry Horne (E.H.Horne) on mineral claims he staked in 1920. Extraction of copper began on 17 December 1927. Although extraction was originally predicted to last for only three years, additional reserves (the gigantic "Giant H Orebody") were quickly discovered; the mine would form the backbone of Noranda's operations until reserves were exhausted in 1976.
Beginning in 1930, Noranda diversified by acquiring holdings in the forestry, oil, manufacturing, and automotive industries. In 1931, the company opened the CCR refinery in Montréal-Est
, which processes all the copper produced by the Horne smelter. Noranda gained its first international property in 1938 with the purchase of the Empresa Minera de Nicaragua gold mine in Nicaragua
. The company gained a large interest in Kerr Addison Gold Mines in 1945. In 1955 it opened the Gaspé
Copper Mines, and in 1963 Canadian Electrolytic Zinc (CEZ), in which Noranda held a large stake, began production. 1973 saw the company expand into aluminum with the opening of an aluminum smelter in New Madrid, Missouri
, and the oil business with the formation of Canadian Hunter. Asset management companies Brascan
and Caisse de Dépôt gained effective control of Noranda with a $1 billion CAD
investment in 1981. In 1984 Noranda Mines changed its name to Noranda Inc., as a reflection of its wide diversification. Also in 1984, the company became a large player in the electronics scrap
and recycling
business by purchasing Micro Metallics Corp. In 1995 Noranda gained full control of Brunswick Mining and Smelting, a zinc mine and smelting company in New Brunswick
; they opened a battery recycling facility one year later. Also in 1995 Noranda entered Latin America with the purchase of a 25% stake in the Refimet smelter outside of Antofagasta, Chile. Noranda obtained 100% control in 1998 and ownership of that site aided later expansion into Latin America. Noranda announced that it would divest itself from all industries unrelated to mining and metals in 1997, and completed the transition the following year, removing itself from the forestry and oil and gas industries. The company gained a 34% stake in the huge Antamina copper-zinc mine in Peru, which opened in 2001. In 2002 Noranda opened a large aluminum foil plant in Tennessee
, and expanded its recycling business with the opening of an electronic hardware recycling facility in Brampton, Ontario
in 2003. Noranda expanded its aluminum business in 2004 by gaining a 50% interest in the Gramercy alumina refinery in Louisiana
and associated Jamaica
n bauxite
deposits. By 2005, the company had operations in 18 countries.
was rumoured to be interested in buying Noranda, which caused the Canadian federal government to review its foreign investment policy. In June 2005 Noranda completed a merger with Falconbridge, essentially purchasing Falconbridge outright. However, the combined company continued under the name Falconbridge Limited, ending the Noranda name as a large mining company. Brascan reduced its stake in the new company to 20%. Less than a year after completing its merger with Falconbridge, the new company was acquired by Xstrata
. The Noranda name continues for companies with Noranda Aluminum, which was the spun off by Xstrata, and the Noranda Income Fund which is a large zinc refinery in Valleyfield
, Quebec
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
and metallurgy
Metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...
company originally from Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It was listed on the TSX
Toronto Stock Exchange
Toronto Stock Exchange is the largest stock exchange in Canada, the third largest in North America and the seventh largest in the world by market capitalisation. Based in Canada's largest city, Toronto, it is owned by and operated as a subsidiary of the TMX Group for the trading of senior equities...
under the symbol NRD.LV. After eventually acquiring a large interest in rival mining company Falconbridge
Falconbridge Ltd.
Falconbridge Limited was a Toronto, Ontario-based natural resources company with operations in 18 countries, involved in the exploration, mining, processing, and marketing of metal and mineral products, including nickel, copper, cobalt, and platinum. It was listed on the TSX and NYSE , and had...
, it merged with that company in 2005. The combined company continued under the name Falconbridge Limited, ending the Noranda name. Only one year later in 2006 Falconbridge was acquired by the Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
-based mining company Xstrata
Xstrata
Xstrata plc is a global mining company headquartered in Zug, Switzerland and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is a major producer of coal , copper, nickel, primary vanadium and zinc and the world's largest producer of ferrochrome...
.
History and operations
Noranda was incorporated in 1922 as Noranda Mines under the leadership of James Y. MurdochJames Murdoch
James Murdoch is the chairman and chief executive of News Corporation.James Murdoch may also refer to:* James Murdoch , Irish Baptist College lecturer and former Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland pastor-teacher...
to exploit the Horne deposit, discovered by Edmund Henry Horne (E.H.Horne) on mineral claims he staked in 1920. Extraction of copper began on 17 December 1927. Although extraction was originally predicted to last for only three years, additional reserves (the gigantic "Giant H Orebody") were quickly discovered; the mine would form the backbone of Noranda's operations until reserves were exhausted in 1976.
Beginning in 1930, Noranda diversified by acquiring holdings in the forestry, oil, manufacturing, and automotive industries. In 1931, the company opened the CCR refinery in Montréal-Est
Montréal-Est, Quebec
Montreal East , is a town in southwestern Quebec, Canada on the island of Montreal, formerly part of the borough of Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles–Montréal-Est. Montreal-Est has consistently been the home to many large oil refineries since 1915.Montreal-Est was originally founded in 1910...
, which processes all the copper produced by the Horne smelter. Noranda gained its first international property in 1938 with the purchase of the Empresa Minera de Nicaragua gold mine in Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
. The company gained a large interest in Kerr Addison Gold Mines in 1945. In 1955 it opened the Gaspé
Gaspé Peninsula
The Gaspésie , or Gaspé Peninsula or the Gaspé, is a peninsula along the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada, extending into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
Copper Mines, and in 1963 Canadian Electrolytic Zinc (CEZ), in which Noranda held a large stake, began production. 1973 saw the company expand into aluminum with the opening of an aluminum smelter in New Madrid, Missouri
New Madrid, Missouri
New Madrid is a city in New Madrid County, Missouri, 42 miles south by west of Cairo, Illinois, on the Mississippi River. New Madrid was founded in 1788 by American frontiersmen. In 1900, 1,489 people lived in New Madrid, Missouri; in 1910, the population was 1,882. The population was 3,334 at...
, and the oil business with the formation of Canadian Hunter. Asset management companies Brascan
Brookfield Asset Management
Brookfield Asset Management Inc. is a Toronto, Ontario-based asset management company that manages a global portfolio of assets valued at over $150 billion...
and Caisse de Dépôt gained effective control of Noranda with a $1 billion CAD
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
investment in 1981. In 1984 Noranda Mines changed its name to Noranda Inc., as a reflection of its wide diversification. Also in 1984, the company became a large player in the electronics scrap
Scrap
Scrap is a term used to describe recyclable and other materials left over from every manner of product consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has significant monetary value...
and recycling
Recycling
Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...
business by purchasing Micro Metallics Corp. In 1995 Noranda gained full control of Brunswick Mining and Smelting, a zinc mine and smelting company in New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
; they opened a battery recycling facility one year later. Also in 1995 Noranda entered Latin America with the purchase of a 25% stake in the Refimet smelter outside of Antofagasta, Chile. Noranda obtained 100% control in 1998 and ownership of that site aided later expansion into Latin America. Noranda announced that it would divest itself from all industries unrelated to mining and metals in 1997, and completed the transition the following year, removing itself from the forestry and oil and gas industries. The company gained a 34% stake in the huge Antamina copper-zinc mine in Peru, which opened in 2001. In 2002 Noranda opened a large aluminum foil plant in Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, and expanded its recycling business with the opening of an electronic hardware recycling facility in Brampton, Ontario
Brampton, Ontario
Brampton is the third-largest city in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada and the seat of Peel Region. As of the 2006 census, Brampton's population stood at 433,806, making it the 11th largest city in Canada. It is also one of Canada's fastest growing municipalities, with an average...
in 2003. Noranda expanded its aluminum business in 2004 by gaining a 50% interest in the Gramercy alumina refinery in Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
and associated Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n bauxite
Bauxite
Bauxite is an aluminium ore and is the main source of aluminium. This form of rock consists mostly of the minerals gibbsite Al3, boehmite γ-AlO, and diaspore α-AlO, in a mixture with the two iron oxides goethite and hematite, the clay mineral kaolinite, and small amounts of anatase TiO2...
deposits. By 2005, the company had operations in 18 countries.
Merger
Noranda had bought 19.9% of rival mining company Falconbridge in 1988, which was raised to a 58.4% stake in 2002. In 2005 China MinmetalsChina Minmetals
China Minmetals Corporation is a Chinese metals and mineral trading company. It is a state-controlled corporation existing under the laws of the People's Republic of China, is a diversified metals and mining company based in Beijing, China...
was rumoured to be interested in buying Noranda, which caused the Canadian federal government to review its foreign investment policy. In June 2005 Noranda completed a merger with Falconbridge, essentially purchasing Falconbridge outright. However, the combined company continued under the name Falconbridge Limited, ending the Noranda name as a large mining company. Brascan reduced its stake in the new company to 20%. Less than a year after completing its merger with Falconbridge, the new company was acquired by Xstrata
Xstrata
Xstrata plc is a global mining company headquartered in Zug, Switzerland and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is a major producer of coal , copper, nickel, primary vanadium and zinc and the world's largest producer of ferrochrome...
. The Noranda name continues for companies with Noranda Aluminum, which was the spun off by Xstrata, and the Noranda Income Fund which is a large zinc refinery in Valleyfield
Valleyfield
Valleyfield may refer to:* Valleyfield, Fife, Scotland* Valleyfield, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada...
, Quebec
External links
- Former website (April 15, 2005 snapshot from the Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
) - Flash presentation See "About us", "History and Milestones" Retrieved 26 June 2008.