We are very excited about Goro he concluded

The direction of Inco, second World Group of the nickel, has to accept the offer of the Brazilian Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) that she had fought previously. This offer hostile, all in cash, the number one global iron ore was launched 45 days ago ("Les Echos" from August 14). Accountability is imposed while no other competitor of CVRD has demonstrated since interest in the Canadian mining company. It is true that she had successively to abandon its planned merger with only countryman Falconbridge, in the meantime bought by Swiss Xstrata, and then group three with Falconbridge and American Phelps Dodge and then, finally, his union with Phelps Dodge.

The market very quickly recorded this lack of competitors, by reducing course of Inco in the amount of the offer of 86 dollars per share advanced by the Brazilian. Friday, Inco had a market capitalization of 17,34 billion Canadian dollars (15,61 billion US $), then that CVRD values 17.52 billion Canadian dollars (US $ 15.77 billion). After trying, unsuccessfully, to find alternatives to the merger with CVRD and push it to its proposal, remained unchanged since its launch on 11 August, the Board of Directors of Inco went obviously doing against bad fortune good heart: "the offer of CVRD represents a compelling value for our shareholders," said Scott Hand, patron of the Canadian group. In addition, the Brazilian Group yesterday announced its intention to extend its offer for Inco until October 16.

Enhanced financial capacity

Appears so now nothing to stop the March of CVRD, fort of the finalization of the transaction approvals issued by the United States and Canadian competition authorities. Only him is still lacking from the European Commission and the Canadian Government in local legislation on foreign investment. From the point of view of the mining operations in nickel, Robin Bahr, analyst at UBS, judges the union between Inco and CVRD as a positive. "The new entity will more capacity to finance new projects drawing on its cash flow and by accessing the capital markets", he said.

On this plan, the contribution of CVRD will be decisive. The most ambitious project of Inco, the Goro (60,000 tonnes of nickel and 5,000 tonnes of cobalt per year of potential production) in the province South of New Caledonia, is surely the main beneficiary of the marriage. While his start was pushed back in early 2008 at best, its construction costs should be reviewed on the rise, as were recently those of Koniambo, mega-project in Xstrata nickel, located in the northern province of the Pebble. The presentation of the class with Inco, CVRD President Roger Agnelli had defined that Goro as a "nice" and "very interesting".

For its part, José Lancaster, Executive Director of the activities in the non-ferrous of CVRD, had focused on the many possible synergies between Goro and his own project of Vermelho because close technologies which are applied to them. "We are very excited about Goro", he concluded. The success of its development depends on the conquest by CVRD in the world in the nickel.