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.
Jonathon Naylor Editor HudBay Minerals' expansion strategy will rely on investing in exploration companies rather than hefty mergers and acquisitions. So says David Garofalo, CEO of the HBMS parent, in an interview last week with the Bloomberg financial news service. 'It's what we like to euphemistically call our farm system,' he told Bloomberg. 'We're trying to fund promising drill (exploration) programs, and if they find something meaningful we have a seat at the table.' That strategy has been playing itself out in recent years as HudBay pumps dollars into junior miners searching for ore in places like Flin Flon, Snow Lake and Sherridon. Other HudBay partners own properties in Ontario, Michigan and northern Saskatchewan. Still, HudBay has not shied away acquisitions some might classify as major. Last year the company spent over $300 million to purchase Norsemont Mining, complete with its promising Constancia copper project in Peru. Thanks in large part to Constancia, HudBay expects its overall copper production to more than triple by 2016, with zinc output to soar by some 65 per cent. Rebound Garofalo also told Bloomberg he expects weaker copper prices will rebound in 2012 on the strength of demand from China and insufficient supply. He also said zinc prices are probably close to as low as they will get. While HudBay continues to maintain strong northern Manitoba assets _ 777 mine is humming along and the Lalor and Reed mines will open near Snow Lake _ Garofalo believes in a diversified portfolio of properties. 'Our operating history and legacy in northern Manitoba puts us in the enviable position of being able to export our culture into new markets,' he told The Reminder recently. 'At this point in our history, we have the opportunity to export not just our culture but our technical expertise, our people and our capital into new markets such as Peru to grow our company and perpetuate our legacy. See 'Mobility...' on pg. 3
