Northern Development and Mines Minister Rick Bartolucci will be on a trade mission in Europe next week.
While in Zurich, Switzerland, he will meet with senior executives of Xstrata PLC, the parent company of Xstrata Nickel, to gain insights into European investment markets and to discuss international impressions of Ontario.
Xstratra Nickel owns three nickel mines in Greater Sudbury and a mill and smelter in Falconbridge.
The Sudbury MPP will lead a mission from Feb 19 to Feb. 23 and meet with investment representatives in England, Germany and Switzerland.
The Ontario government is promoting the province’s significant mineral sector advantages to the European investment community with a view to increasing the flow of exploration capital into the province.
The mission will include visits to London’s Alternative Investment Market and the London Metal Exchange, the world's leading metal market specializing in the trading (and pricing) of metals – including nickel, copper and zinc.
“Even though Ontario is enjoying an unprecedented boom in levels of mineral exploration fuelled by record commodity prices, we cannot rest on our laurels given the intense global competition for investment capital,” said Bartolucci.
“I am looking forward to meeting members of the European investment community to underscore Ontario’s mineral advantage and secure a flow of capital that will fund the development of mines and mining-related jobs in the future.”
In a news release, the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines says the Ontario government is promoting mineral development as part of its Northern Prosperity Plan.
