Falconbridge: Portrait of a Canadian Mining Multinational

Falconbridge is a giant in the nickel mining business in Canada, second only to Inco.  It is an enormous multinational in its own right, with mines in Sudbury, the Dominican Republic, southern Africa and elsewhere.

Since nickel is a vital strategic material, the growth and power of Falconbridge is intimately related to the history of the world's armaments industry. Falconbridge took off when it was awarded a massive nickel stock piling contract by the U.S. government in 1953.  Gradually the involvement of American business in the company increased, culminating in a takeover by Texas oilman Howard Keck of Superior Oil. Falconbridge emerges as a company that is Canadian in name only, a company whose activities are related directly to U.S. defence and foreign policy.

JOHN DEVERELL is an economist and journalist.  He edited until recently the Regina basked magazine Next Year Country.  The Latin American Working Group is a group of researchers in Toronto who investigate multinational corporations and Canadian foreign policy.