Where Inco has operations, it has legacies, and we are going to have to face up to them in a proper and responsible way,
We have seen a downturn in nickel prices during the third quarter and into the fourth quarter,
Our North American operations remain a vital base,
Stainless steel production, orders and prices have all risen strongly, in line with an overall improvement in the global economy and strong industrial production growth.
We continue to see a limited increase in nickel production, leading to tight nickel supplies expected for the balance of 2006.
We'll come up with the schedule that will take into account these recent incidents . . . some time in the second half.
We're bringing together two great companies, with excellent assets, to create a great Canadian player in the global markets.
Those are the two dates we are looking at right now and, depending upon what the response is from them, we would then decide what the timing would be for the offer.
we are interested in exploring future opportunities in the region.
We expect China to remain a key driver of the nickel market and our Asia Pacific operations are ideally positioned to meet growing demand from China and the rest of Asia going forward.
We're very optimistic that it will be, but you have to go through the process.
This new organization supports our aggressive growth and our drive to be the world's leading nickel company,
This new organisation supports our aggressive growth and our drive to be the world's leading nickel company,
Anyone who has spent time in our Sudbury operations knows it takes a lot of electricity to run our mines, our mills, our smelters and our refineries.
This company will be a Canadian-based nickel and copper powerhouse on the global scene,
This combination will create a mining and metals powerhouse, with outstanding growth prospects and a truly unique opportunity to create significant value for shareholders.
This has been a very small group that has been indicating opposition to aspects of the project.
It will be a major presence in north and south America, in Asia, in the South Pacific and in Europe.
For a good part of our shared history a lot of people have been saying, You know, if only these two Canadian companies could get together, what a great company that could be. Well, that day has arrived.
It's not unusual for a transaction of the magnitude of ours to move to a second phase.
It may take a little longer to get the deal done but we're convinced that this deal is worth the wait.
Synergies that we get together offer great growth and great employment opportunities in Sudbury and elsewhere around the world,
support our aggressive growth and our drive to be the world's leading nickel company.
The new Inco will be stronger, larger, more diversified, with perhaps the best operations, best estimated reserves, the best growth projects, as well as a great global marketing position,
The new company will have a have more diversified business profile with about half of the combined pro forma 2005 revenues from nickel, one third from copper, 10 percent from aluminum and the balance from zinc, precious metals and cobalt.
In particular, it recognizes the growing importance of our Asia-Pacific operations as we build the Goro project in New Caledonia, and expand our PT Inco operations in Indonesia.
