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670 workers lose jobs as Xstrata Copper permanently closes plants in Timmins

Xstrata Copper will permanently shut down its copper and zinc plants at the Kidd Metallurgical Site in Timmins. The company announced the shutdown Dec. 7, scheduled to come into effect by May 1, 2010, affecting an estimated 670 jobs.
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Of the 800 people employed at the Kidd Met site, the 200 workers in the smelter and refinery will be affected by the shutdown, with some staff due to be shifted to other roles.

 
Xstrata Copper will permanently shut down its copper and zinc plants at the Kidd Metallurgical Site in Timmins.

The company announced the shutdown Dec. 7, scheduled to come into effect by May 1, 2010, affecting an estimated 670 jobs.

“The reasoning for this announcement is that in the metallurgical industry, there's a significant over-capacity of smelting plants globally as well as in Canada and this has resulted in severe downward pressure on our smelting revenues,” said Thompson Hickey, general manager of the Kidd site. “We're also seeing reduced prices for our byproducts.

“Overall, this rationalization is required to make the Xstrata Copper division competitive on the global stage.”

The Timmins plants are also small and don't benefit from economies of scale, said Hickey.

The Kidd site was temporarily shut down late this summer from a lack of available copper concentrate that was no longer being produced at Vale Inco's acid plant due to a labour dispute. However, Hickey said the reason for the shutdown is not linked to the Vale Inco strike.

The Kidd mine and Kidd concentrator, which are also located in Timmins, will not be affected by the shutdown. Due to a recent $100 million investment to deepen the Kidd mine, it is expected to remain in operation until 2017. The mining concentrate will be shipped to Quebec for processing.

The company is offering an early retirement package for workers over 55 who have been with the company for at least 10 years. Xstrata Copper has committed to letting employees know the status of their future employment by Feb. 1, 2010 as well as to follow the collective agreement with the union during the shutdown.

The shutdown will take place in stages over three to four weeks starting May 1. There are no plans to use the site for other uses or to halt other operations at Xstrata Copper at this time.


www.xstrata.com