Unless the price of doing business is reduced, the future doesn't look bright for Falconbridge Ltd. in and around Sudbury, says company president and CEO Aaron Regent.
Speaking to members of the financial community on a webcast across North America Monday afternoon, Regent said Sudbury operations have become
increasingly more expensive and excessive union demands have played a large role in rising costs.
Until the company can "guarantee cost controls and containment", some of the mines the company now operates and future exploration programs "will be rendered uneconomic" and won't be developed, said Regent.
The company's final offer to the striking members of Local 598 of the Mine Mill/CAW was "generous" and offered the same monetary package accepted by members of Local 6500 of the United Steelworkers of America last summer following a four-month strike at Inco's Sudbury operations, said Regent.
With nickel prices hovering over $7 per pound, the average member of Local 598 would make an additional $5 per hour in nickel bonus on top of already generous hourly wages, said Regent,
While he wouldn't discuss specifics of many areas of negotiations, Regent agreed with the union that contracting out is a key stumbling block in negotiations.
The company's objective remains "to reach an agreement as quickly as possible" and he remains hopeful that will happen, said Regent.
The huge Nickel Rim South project the company plans on developing will be fully covered by the collective agreement with Local 598 once it's developed and ready for full production, said Regent.
However, there are specialized areas where contractors have to be brought in to develop the site, he said.
The company does plan on running its mill and smelter at between 40 and 50 per cent capacity as feed is still being transported from the company's
Raglan Mine in Quebec, said Regent.
The company is in favour of a provincial conciliator stepping in to try and assist negotiations, said Regent.
He?s hopeful the conciliation talks announced Tuesday can assist in getting both sides back to the bargaining table.
Falconbridge will be releasing 2003 fourth quarter results Thursday morning, said Regent.
