Noranda Mines

Noranda Inc.

Company type	Public
Industry	Mining, Metallurgy
Founded	1922 (1922)
Founder	James Y. Murdoch
Defunct	2005 (2005)
Fate	Merged with Falconbridge Limited
Headquarters	Toronto , Canada
Area served	Canada, Latin America, United States, others (18 countries by 2005)
Key people	James Y. Murdoch (founder and first president), Derek George Pannell (last president)
Products	Copper, Zinc, Aluminum, Gold, Potash

History and operations

Established in 1922 as Noranda Mines under the leadership of James Y. Murdoch, the company was created to develop the Horne deposit located near Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec. Copper production commenced in 1927, with the later identification of the "Giant H Orebody" extending the mine’s operational lifespan until 1976.

From 1930 onward, Noranda broadened its business interests into forestry, oil, manufacturing, and automotive industries. The CCR refinery in Montréal-Est was inaugurated in 1931 to refine copper sourced from the Horne Smelter. Noranda’s initial venture abroad came in 1938 with the acquisition of a gold mining operation in Nicaragua.

In 1945, Noranda secured a substantial stake in Kerr Addison Gold Mines. It launched Gaspé Copper Mines in 1955 and began supporting Canadian Electrolytic Zinc (CEZ) production starting in 1963.

The company divested its holdings in Denison Mines in 1967 at $80 per share, reinvesting $80 million into potash mining ventures in Saskatchewan. Additionally, it acquired a majority 51% interest in Brunswick Mining and Smelting Corporation and invested in Pacific Coast Company, an aluminum manufacturer based in Cleveland.

Following the 1973 coup d’état in Chile, Noranda regained its 49% ownership of Chile Canadian Mines and committed $600,000 to develop copper reserves at Andacollo. That same year marked entry into aluminum production with a smelter located in New Madrid, Missouri, while also expanding into the oil sector through Canadian Hunter.

In 1981, Brascan and Caisse de Dépôt obtained controlling influence by investing CAD 1 billion. Reflecting its diversified portfolio, Noranda Mines was renamed Noranda Inc. in 1984 and ventured into electronics scrap recycling by acquiring Micro Metallics Corp.

By 1995, Noranda had full ownership of Brunswick Mining and Smelting and had opened a facility dedicated to battery recycling. The company further expanded its presence in Latin America by acquiring a stake in the Refimet smelter near Antofagasta, Chile, achieving complete ownership by 1998.

Between 1997 and 1998, Noranda withdrew from non-core sectors such as forestry and oil to concentrate solely on mining and metals.

By August 2000, Noranda had become Canada’s foremost mining company. Upon the opening of Peru’s Antamina copper-zinc mine in 2001, it obtained a 34% interest.

In 2002, Noranda launched an aluminum foil manufacturing plant in Tennessee and enhanced its recycling operations by opening an electronic hardware facility in Brampton, Ontario in 2003. That year also saw the shelving of the Alumysa aluminum smelter project originally planned for Patagonia.

Noranda expanded its aluminum business further in 2004 by acquiring a half stake in the Gramercy alumina refinery located in Louisiana along with affiliated bauxite deposits situated in Jamaica.

By 2005, Noranda maintained operations across eighteen countries.

Two mergers

Noranda initially purchased a 19.9% interest in competitor Falconbridge in 1988, which it increased to a controlling 58.4% by 2002.

In 2004, China Minmetals entered negotiations to acquire Noranda for $6.7 billion CAD, triggering a federal review of foreign investment regulations in Canada. The Chinese bid received backing from Bruce Flatt and Brascan. Due to delays from government authorities, Noranda proposed a merger with Falconbridge in January 2005. By June of that year, Noranda completed its acquisition of Falconbridge; however, the merged company operated under the Falconbridge Limited name, marking the end of Noranda as a prominent mining brand. Brascan’s shareholding was reduced to 20%, which it subsequently sold to Xstrata in August 2005.

Less than twelve months following the Falconbridge merger, Xstrata fully acquired the combined company. The Noranda name continues through entities such as Noranda Aluminum, which was spun off by Xstrata, and through the Noranda Income Fund, a major zinc refining operation based in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec.

Scotland and Wales

During the early 1970s, Noranda Mines undertook exploration initiatives across Scotland and northern Wales. These efforts included soil and stream sampling alongside geophysical assessments. Drilling operations were carried out in Snowdonia (specifically at Hafod y Llan) and in Wester Ross near Locharron. While copper deposits were identified in Wales, no such mineralization was detected in Wester Ross. In Snowdonia, drilling utilized a portable x-ray rig capable of reaching depths close to 100 feet, whereas in Wester Ross, a Boyles Bros. rotary rig was employed to drill to approximately 1,000 feet.

President

1. James Young Murdoch, 1922–1956
2. John Ross Bradfield, 1956–1964
3. Richard Valentine Porritt, 1964–1968
4. Alfred Powis, 1968–1982
5. Adam Hartley Zimmerman, 1982–1987
6. David Wylie Kerr, 1987–1995
7. Edward Courtney Pratt, 1995–1997
8. David Wylie Kerr, 1997–2001
9. Derek George Pannell, 2001–2005

Chairman of the Board

1. James Young Murdoch, 1956–1962
2. John Ross Bradfield, 1964–1974
3. William Stanley Row, 1974–1977
4. Alfred Powis, 1977–1995
5. David Wylie Kerr, 1995–1997
6. Edward Courtney Pratt, 1997–1998
7. Robert James Harding, 1998–2001
8. David Wylie Kerr, 2001–2002

Company histories

• Robert, Leslie. Noranda. Clark, Irwin & Company Limited, 1956.

External links

• Archived official website (Snapshot from April 15, 2005 via the Internet Archive)
• Flash presentation Access "About us", "History and Milestones" Retrieved June 26, 2008.