This is the first of what we plan to be an annual round-up of Canada’s Top 40 mineral producers. But what is it that makes a company a leader in its field? Is the leading mining company the one that produced the most mineral product in 1989? Is it the leader because it is the biggest in terms of infrastructure and employees?
We finally settled on sales revenue as the key to identifying Canada’s top 40 producers. (Returns on revenue might have been a better barometer of relative performance, but that figure can be misleading.) We reviewed the financial results of more than 200 companies to compile the list that comprises the following pages.
Rank/Company
Principal Activities
Sales 1990 1989 ($000) Net Income 1990 1989 ($000)
1. ALCAN ALUMINUM is an international aluminum producer. Its activities include bauxite mining, alumina refining, and the smelting, manufacturing and recycling of aluminum.
8,757,000 8,839,000 543,000 835,000
2. INCO LTD. supplies the world with about one-third of non-communist demand for nickel. In addition, Inco is an important producer of copper and cobalt and is increasing its participation in production of gold and other precious metals.
3,335,086 4,064,459 441,217 753,404
3. DOFASCO INC. is one of Canada’s largest steel producers, and has varying interests in Wabush Mines, Iron Ore Co. of Canada and Quebec Cartier Mining.
3,250,300 6,019,000 (679,200) 217,900
4. NORANDA MINERALS operates 28 mines and 10 metallurgical plants. As a group, it produces zinc, copper, nickel, lead and related byproducts as well as gold and silver; sulphuric acid; potash and phosphate fertilizers.
2,668,000 1,867,000 217,000 150,000
5. COMINCO LTD. is a natural resource company involved in mining, smelting and refining, mineral exploration and fertilizer production. Cominco is one of the world’s largest producers of zinc and lead, and also produces and sells copper concentrate, silver, gold, ferronickel, molybdenum, cadmium, bismuth, germanium concentrate and indium.
1,417,545 1,609,704 54,756 214,615
6. RIO ALGOM is a major Canadian natural resource company with interests in the metals distribution business. Its principal activities include the mining of potash, tin, uranium, copper, molybdenum and coal, and the processing and marketing of a wide range of metal products through metals service centres.
1,343,111 1,711,910 87,286 73,122
7. PLACER DOME is an international mining company and one of the world’s largest gold and silver producers and a significant producer of copper and molybdenum. Principal activities include business of thecorporation is finding or acquiring mineral properties anywhere in the world and adding value by developing and operating mines.
1,080,100 904,300 191,000 125,100
8. QIT-FER ET TITANE, a little-known company owned by RTZ, has a producing limenite mine, in the Allard Lake area in Quebec. It operates by open pit, and the ore is transported to a smelting facility where it produces high-quality iron, titanium oxide slag, and steel billets.
560,400 501,900 N/A N/A
9. TECK CORP. is one of the oldest, continuously operating mining companies in Canada. It is a diversified mining company with producing operations across Canada and indirect interests in other operations. Its products include zinc, lead, copper, gold, silver, niobium and coal.
474,060 414,263 90,568 112,905
10. LAC MINERALS, following its acquisition of Bond International Gold, is a company with world-wide gold operations. It also produces large amounts of copper, zinc, silver and aggregates.
459,100 186,000 (64,300) 30,500
11. WESTAR MINING is one of Canada’s largest producers and exporters of metallurgical coal. It operates two surface plants, including the Balmer mine in Sparwood, BC.
445,800 491,600 (4,400) (15,600)
12. HUDSON BAY MINING & SMELTING mines and processes copper, nickel, zinc, gold and silver at Flin Flon, Snow Lake, Leaf Rapids and Namew Lake in Manitoba, and operates a zinc oxide plant in Ontario.
423,157 454,240 16,582 46,378
13. BP RESOURCES CANADA is the operator of a 55% joint venture producing zinc, copper and gold in northwestern Quebec, operator and 100% owner of Texada Lime, a lime producer in Langley, B.C., operator and 75% owner of Hope Brook Gold in Newfoundland, which recently was shut down because of continuing losses.
395,418 345,966 29,155 17,929
14. FORDING COAL owns and operates a 6-million-tonne-per-year export coal mine in southeastern B.C. It also owns a 50% interest in the Genesee Coal mine near Edmonton, Alta. and provides contract mining services for TransAlta’s Whitewood mine.
N/A 353,964 N/A 36,446
15. CURRAGH RESOURCES, in a short 6-year period, has become a major producer of zinc and lead concentrates. It also has an interest in a Spanish zinc smelter.
352,792 348,501 32,014 60,690
16. CORONA CORP. is a leading North American gold producer. It has interests in 11 precious metals mines and a portfolio of gold exploration and development properties in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.
342,506 318,239 9,236 12,738
17. ECHO BAY MINES is a major North American gold-silver producer. It has 12 mines exclusively in North America, including the Lupin mine and the Cove-McCoy mine in Nevada.
338,939 297,003 (59,670) 16,020
18. DENISON MINES has been dogged by troubles. Ontario Hydro has cancelled its uranium supply contracts from the Elliot Lake, Ont. mine. Denison has hired William James, the former Falconbridge CEO to help it out of its difficulties.
315,922 314,713 (291,268) (4,278)
19. CAMECO (A Canadian Mining & Energy Corporation) operates two of the world’s largest, low-cost uranium mines in northern Saskatchewan and has uranium refining and conversion facilities in Ontario. Its interests also include gold mining, as well as base metal and industrial metal exploration. Owned by the government of Saskatchewan and by Ottawa, Cameco is in the process
315,600 319,500 91,600 23,500
20. POTASH CORP. OF SASKATCHEWAN mines, refines and sells potash to both North American dealers and offshore companies. With an annual production capacity of 8.6 million tonnes of KCl, it is the largest private potash producer in the world.
288,750 334,802 25,443 83,416
21. BRUNSWICK MINING & SMELTING, a Noranda subsidiary, produces concentrates containing zinc, lead, silver and copper. A strike last year slowedoutput. It also operates and participates as a joint venture partner in the Heath Steele mine, which produces zinc, lead and copper concentrates.
259,981 336,792 25,021 29,671
22. MINNOVA INC., a Noranda subsidiary, owns and operates a number of producing gold and base metal mines in Canada. It also has extensive exploration projects in Canada and the U.S.
280,862 170,324 15,089 (6,855)
23. AMERICAN BARRICK is a leading North American gold producer with interests in six properties. A proposed merger with Newmont Gold could transform it into the second-largest gold producer in the world. Its mines include Holt-McDermott in Ontario, Mercur in Utah and Goldstrike in Nevada.
251,624 206,069 58,205 33,735
24. KERR ADDISON MINES, a Noranda subsidiary, is an experienced mine operator, developer and an aggressive explorer for minerals. It participates in oil and gas exploration, development and operations, and invests in resource industries.
211,596 131,685 17,611 12,639
25. HEMLO GOLD MINES, a Noranda subsidiary, owns and operates the high-grade Golden Giant mine near Marathon, Ont., one of the lowest-cost gold producers in the world and one of the largest gold mines in North America.
203,789 192,651 23,636 32,780
26. PEGASUS GOLD, a heap-leach pioneer, has four mines, all of which are in the western U.S. All are open-pit, heap-leach mines, except for the Montana Tunnels polymetallic deposit.
169,579 178,362 (38,172) 9,763
27. METALL MINING CORP. has interests in copper, zinc, lead, gold and silver operations in North America, Europe and the Pacific Rim. It also
has shares in Teck, Cominco and M.I.M. Holdings.
166,913 111,594 2,864 34,304
28. CAMBIOR is a Canadian gold producer with interests in seven mines in production or under development. It is involved in exploration and mining in Canada, the U.S. and Guyana.
147,884 116,883 23,991 17,661
29. WESTMIN RESOURCES is engaged in the exploration, and production of gold, silver, copper, zinc and lead primarily in western Canada, on Vancouver Island.
139,741 113,663 (80,841) 63,555
30. HIGHLAND VALLEY COPPER, the biggest open pit copper producer in the country, mines and concentrates copper and molybdenum at Logan Lake, B.C.
132,481 106,768 48,771 44,440
31. PRINCETON MINING has interests in base and precious metals. Similco Mines is a wholly-owned subsidiary. B.C. Cassiar Mining Corp. produces 100,000 tonnes of asbestos fibre per year.
126,416 141,850 10,800 30,600
32. CONWEST EXPLORATION, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Nanisivik Mines, owns the zinc-lead Nanisivik mine in Canada’s High Arctic. Conwest’s revenue is also derived from oil and gas production.
103,110 103,082 7,819 10,301
33. GIANT YELLOWKNIFE MINES, now in the Royal Oak Resources fold, operates the producing Giant gold mine in the Yellowknife area, and has interests in other mines in the Northwest Territories. It also operates two gold mines in the Timmins area.
N/A N/A (51,200) (189)
34. EQUITY SILVER MINES operates a silver mine in Houston, B.C. It is 58.8% owned by Placer Dome Inc.
91,573 93,324 9,879 20,639
35. GIBRALTAR MINES, which is 68% owned by Placer Dome Inc., is a copper-molybdenum producer in B.C.
84,558 104,712 9,888 24,310
36. GRANGES INC., directly and through subsidiaries, holds interests in a number of producing mines. It is also actively involved in exploration.
63,139 66,218 8,347 11,295
37. DICKENSON MINES is engaged in gold mining and exploration and the production of sodium sulphate, lime and limestone products.
59,960 53,548 (39,134) 6,064
38. GALACTIC RESOURCES has varying interests in three gold mines, most significantly its part ownership of the Ridgeway mine in South Carolina.
46,476 47,196 (34,021) 6,158
39. CAMPBELL RESOURCES is a gold and copper mining company which owns the Joe Mann mine and has a limited partnership interest in asbestos production.
45,557 45,783 (26,965) 3,001
40. MINVEN GOLD owns the Stibnite goldmine in Idaho and has other gold mines in South Dakota.
38,054 41,807 (3,265) (14,200)
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