General News & Comment Falconbridge names officer for

Nickel- copper producer Falconbridge Ltd. has made a move to tackle head on the biggest issue of the 1990s, the environment. Perhaps best known for its Sudbury, Ont.-based nickel mining operations, Falconbridge is turning to its Timmins base metal operation, Kidd Creek Mines, for environmental guidance.

Falconbridge, owned jointly by Noranda (TSE) and Trelleborg of Sweden, recently announced it is creating the position of “vice- president environmental affairs” and handing the job over to Mike Amsden, the company’s vice- president and general manager in charge of the Kidd Creek mine.

Falconbridge President and chief executive officer Alex Balogh said the move is an indication of Falconbridge’s growing concern for the environment. “This move reflects Falconbridge’s commitment to environmental issues and recognizes Mike’s success in running the cleanest smelter in North America,” he said.

Amsden is also assuming corporate responsibility for safety, health and hygiene.

“Everybody in the world now is concerned about the environment they live in,” Amsden said. “They recognize the activities we’ve all been doing have caused some major pollution.”

Amsden added that “it’s quite possible that in the future, industries will be judged on the waste they produce rather than their products.”

Falconbridge hails Amsden as a natural choice for the newly created position because Amsden has been a part of the Kidd Creek operation for all of its 25 years.

“Mike came up through the ranks of the organization and he is very familiar with technical as well as managerial aspects of what Falconbridge is trying to accomplish,” said company spokesman Colleen Wilkinson.

The company hasn’t identified any major environmental troubles with its operations around the world but that doesn’t mean there’s no work to be done, Amsden said.

“It’s safe to say that all of our operations will be committing new monies to environmental issues,” he said. 0000,0600 Amsden will be globe-trotting in an effort to get Falconbridge’s environmental house in order.

“We’ve got operations in Canada, Norway, Zimbabwe and the Dominican Republic,” said Amsden. “I’ll be visiting all of those sites to see what their concerns are and make recommendations on how to solve any problems that come up.”

Amsden has the benefit of expertise in pollution abatement technology that has spanned the past two and a half decades.

“Kidd Creek has always used the best available environment- conscious technology,” he said. “The original owners (Texas Gulf) wanted to start off on the right foot and avoid run-ins with governments from day one.”

In making the Amsden appointment, Falconbridge is also re-assigning some of its other key senior managers. Warren Holmes, who left Pamour Porcupine Mines in Timmins in 1986 to take over Falconbridge’s Sudbury operations, is going back to Timmins to take over Kidd Creek.

Eric Belford, Kidd Creek’s director of mining, will move to Sudbury to replace Holmes.

All of the appointments are effective Sept. 1.