Noranda (mining Company) - History and Operations

History and Operations

Noranda was incorporated in 1922 as Noranda Mines under the leadership of James Y. Murdoch to exploit the Horne deposit, discovered by Edmund Henry Horne (E.H.Horne) on mineral claims he staked in 1920. Extraction of copper began on 17 December 1927. Although extraction was originally predicted to last for only three years, additional reserves (the gigantic "Giant H Orebody") were quickly discovered; the mine would form the backbone of Noranda's operations until reserves were exhausted in 1976.

Beginning in 1930, Noranda diversified by acquiring holdings in the forestry, oil, manufacturing, and automotive industries. In 1931, the company opened the CCR refinery in Montréal-Est, which processes all the copper produced by the Horne smelter. Noranda gained its first international property in 1938 with the purchase of the Empresa Minera de Nicaragua gold mine in Nicaragua. The company gained a large interest in Kerr Addison Gold Mines in 1945. In 1955 it opened the Gaspé Copper Mines, and in 1963 Canadian Electrolytic Zinc (CEZ), in which Noranda held a large stake, began production.

Following the 1973 Chilean coup d'état, Noranda reclaimed its 49% share in its subsidiary Chile Canadian Mines. The company then invested $600,000 of new capital in its Chilean mines, the first major mining investment after the coup, securing the right to the Andacollo copper reserves in northern Chile in 1976. 1973 also saw the company expand into aluminum with the opening of an aluminum smelter in New Madrid, Missouri, and the oil business with the formation of Canadian Hunter. Asset management companies Brascan and Caisse de Dépôt gained effective control of Noranda with a $1 billion CAD investment in 1981. In 1984 Noranda Mines changed its name to Noranda Inc., as a reflection of its wide diversification. Also in 1984, the company became a large player in the electronics scrap and recycling business by purchasing Micro Metallics Corp. In 1995 Noranda gained full control of Brunswick Mining and Smelting, a zinc mine and smelting company in New Brunswick; they opened a battery recycling facility one year later. Also in 1995 Noranda entered Latin America with the purchase of a 25% stake in the Refimet smelter outside of Antofagasta, Chile. Noranda obtained 100% control in 1998 and ownership of that site aided later expansion into Latin America.

Noranda announced that it would divest itself from all industries unrelated to mining and metals in 1997, and completed the transition the following year, removing itself from the forestry and oil and gas industries. The company gained a 34% stake in the huge Antamina copper-zinc mine in Peru, which opened in 2001. In 2002 Noranda opened a large aluminum foil plant in Tennessee, and expanded its recycling business with the opening of an electronic hardware recycling facility in Brampton, Ontario in 2003. Noranda expanded its aluminum business in 2004 by gaining a 50% interest in the Gramercy alumina refinery in Louisiana and associated Jamaican bauxite deposits. By 2005, the company had operations in 18 countries.