The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Toronto-based Ontzinc Corp. is inching closer toward completing its purchase of Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting. Though the exact date is not known, everything is on track for the deal to be clinched by the end of the year. "Things are quietly moving ahead according to plan," said Ontzinc spokesman Landon French in a phone interview. Ontzinc, which will change its name to Hudbay Minerals Inc. once the deal is final, has offered $325 million for Flin Flon's largest employer. The Toronto company last month entered into an agreement, subject to final adjustment, to purchase the mining and smelting operation from Anglo American International SA of London, England. "The transaction will result in the repatriation to Canada of one of its oldest and best known mining companies," said Ontzinc chairman Gregory J. Peebles in a press statement. The size of Ontzinc's offer surprised some residents who see $325 million as a small price to pay for a company that has undergone over $400 million in upgrades in recent years. Anglo has indicated it wants to sell because it no longer sees HBMS as a good fit within its base metals portfolio.
