Guests

Last Tuesday in the heart of Toronto's financial district, I attended Inco Ltd.'s presentation to the investment community on the company's past year and its current outlook for 2006.

Last month Inco, Laurentian University, and a number of other partners including the city announced their commitment to create an international mining research centre in Sudbury.

One of the biggest corporate stories of 2005 - a metallic marriage made in mining heaven - has been the friendly takeover of the world's fourth biggest nickel miner, Falconbridge Limited by number two producer, Inco Limited.

The last few years of the 20th century were not very kind to the nickel industry. In October and December of 1998, the LME price for nickel dipped to $1.76 a pound (US), the lowest level ever, if you factor in inflation.

As mentioned in my previous column, nickel can be produced from either sulphide (Sudbury Basin) or laterite (Goro) ore. About 72 percent of the world's nickel resources are laterites deposits.

In a hostile bid announced on Monday, Teck Cominco Ltd., launched a $17.8 billion * cash and share offer to take over Inco Ltd., conditional on Inco not completing its friendly merger with Falconbridge Ltd.