![Puit principal mine Horne fonderie Noranda 1926](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Puit_principal_mine_Horne_fonderie_Noranda_1926.jpg)
Noranda Inc. was a
mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...
and
metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys.
Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...
company originally from
Rouyn-Noranda
Rouyn-Noranda ( 2021 population 42,313) is a city on Osisko Lake in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of Quebec, Canada.
The city of Rouyn-Noranda is a coextensive with a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) and census ...
,
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, Canada. It was listed on the
TSX
The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX; french: Bourse de Toronto) is a stock exchange located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the 10th largest exchange in the world and the third largest in North America based on market capitalization. Based in t ...
under the symbol NRD.LV. After eventually acquiring a large interest in rival mining company
Falconbridge Falconbridge may refer to:
*Falconbridge Ltd., a Canadian mining company
*Falconbridge, Middlesex County, Ontario
*Falconbridge, Greater Sudbury, Ontario
People:
*Lord Falconbridge, an alternative title for barons, viscounts, and earls of Fauconbe ...
, 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
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
*Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
*Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports
*Swiss Internation ...
-based mining company
Xstrata
Xstrata plc was an Anglo-Swiss multinational mining company headquartered in Zug, Switzerland and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It was a major producer of coal (and the world's largest exporter of thermal coal), copper, ...
. On 2 May 2013 ownership of Xstrata was fully acquired by mining behemoth
Glencore
Glencore plc is a Swiss multinational commodity trading and mining company with headquarters in Baar, Switzerland. Glencore's oil and gas head office is in London and its registered office is in Saint Helier, Jersey. The current company was c ...
.
History and operations
Noranda was incorporated in 1922 as Noranda Mines under the leadership of
James Y. Murdoch to exploit the Horne deposit, discovered by
Edmond Henry 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
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...
. 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. In 1967, Noranda divested itself at $80 per share of its holdings in
Denison Mines
Denison Mines Corp. is a Canadian uranium exploration, development, and production company. Founded by Stephen B. Roman, and best known for its uranium mining in Blind River and Elliot Lake, it later diversified into coal, potash, and other proj ...
, which it had purchased in 1964 for $12 to $18 per share.
[The Montreal Gazette - Sep 27, 1967 (see google news)] A sum of $80mn was devoted to Potash mines in Saskatchewan, while $50mn purchased a 51% stake in the
Brunswick Mining and Smelting Corporation earlier that year, as well as an investment in
Pacific Coast Company
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
, an aluminum products manufacturer based in
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
.
[
Following the ]1973 Chilean coup d'état
The 1973 Chilean coup d'état Enciclopedia Virtual > Historia > Historia de Chile > Del gobierno militar a la democracia" on LaTercera.cl. Retrieved 22 September 2006.
In October 1972, Chile suffered the first of many strikes. Among the par ...
, Noranda reclaimed its 49% share in its subsidiary Chile Canadian Mines. The company then invested $600,000 of new capital in its Chilean mines, the first major mining investment after the coup, securing the right to the Andacollo
Andacollo () is a city and commune in the Elqui Province, Coquimbo Region, Chile.
History
Andacollo is a copper and gold mining city located in the mountains of the Small North (El Norte Chico) in Chile. It was founded in 1891.
Several legend ...
copper reserves in northern Chile in 1976. 1973 also saw the company expand into aluminum with the opening of an aluminum smelter in New Madrid, Missouri
New Madrid ( es, Nueva Madrid) is a city in New Madrid County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,787 at the 2020 census. New Madrid is the county seat of New Madrid County. The city is located 42 miles (68 km) southwest of Cairo ...
, and the oil business with the formation of Canadian Hunter. Asset management companies Brascan
Brookfield Asset Management Inc. is a Canadian multinational company that is one of the world's largest alternative investment management companies, with over US$725 billion of assets under management in 2022. It focuses on direct contro ...
and Caisse de Dépôt gained effective control of Noranda with a $1 billion CAD
Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve co ...
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 consists of Recycling, recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap Waste valorization, has monetary ...
and recycling
Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...
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 (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
; 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. In August 2000, Noranda was the top miner in Canada. 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
Aluminium foil (or aluminum foil in North American English; often informally called tin foil) is aluminium prepared in thin metal leaves with a thickness less than ; thinner gauges down to are also commonly used. Standard household foil is typ ...
plant in Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
, and expanded its recycling business with the opening of an electronic hardware recycling facility in Brampton, Ontario
Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a lower-tier municipality within Peel Region. The city has a population of 656,480 as of the 2021 Census, making it th ...
in 2003. Noranda expanded its aluminum business in 2004 by gaining a 50% interest in the Gramercy alumina refinery in Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
and associated Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
n bauxite
Bauxite is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (Al(OH)3), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)) and diaspore (α-AlO(O ...
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 Minmetals
China Minmetals Corporation is a Chinese metals and mineral Trader (finance), trading company headquartered in Beijing. It is a state-owned enterprise, state-owned corporation under direct supervision of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Adm ...
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 plc was an Anglo-Swiss multinational mining company headquartered in Zug, Switzerland and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It was a major producer of coal (and the world's largest exporter of thermal coal), copper, ...
. 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 Salaberry-de-Valleyfield
Salaberry-de-Valleyfield is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada, in the Regional County Municipality of Beauharnois-Salaberry.
The population as of 2019 was 42,410. Situated on Grande-Île, an island in the Saint Lawrence River, it is bordere ...
, Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
.
See also
* Noranda Caldera
*Edper Investments Edper Investments Ltd. was the primary holding company and investment vehicle for brothers Edward Bronfman and Peter Bronfman between 1959 and 1995. At its peak in the 1980s and early 1990s, Edper was one of the largest corporate conglomerates in C ...
, which controlled Noranda from 1981 through its ownership of Brascan
Brookfield Asset Management Inc. is a Canadian multinational company that is one of the world's largest alternative investment management companies, with over US$725 billion of assets under management in 2022. It focuses on direct contro ...
.
Noranda Mines also operated in the UK in the early 70's with active exploration programs in Scotland and north Wales. The exploration program consisted of soil and stream sampling and limited Induced Polarisation and fluxgate magnetometer surveys. These programs were sufficiently advanced to give rise to drilling programs in Snowdonia (Hafod y llan) either side of the Watkin path, and also in Wester Ross just outside Locharron. Copper mineralisation was encountered in the Welsh drilling program but essentially nothing in Wester Ross.
Drilling in Snowdonia was with a hand portable x-ray rig capable of reaching approximately 100 ft and in Wester Ross with a Boyles Bros. rotary rig drilling to approximately 1000 ft.
References
{{reflist
External links
Former website
(April 15, 2005 snapshot from the Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
)
*Flash presentatio
See "About us", "History and Milestones"
Retrieved 26 June 2008.
Companies formerly listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange
Defunct mining companies of Canada
Copper mining companies of Canada
Zinc mining companies
Companies based in Toronto
Defunct companies of Ontario
Non-renewable resource companies established in 1922
Non-renewable resource companies disestablished in 2005
Canadian companies established in 1922
Apollo Global Management companies
Rouyn-Noranda
Xstrata
Private equity portfolio companies
Canadian companies disestablished in 2005
1922 establishments in Quebec
2005 disestablishments in Ontario