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The article discusses the performance of Ian Pearce, chief executive officer of Xstrata Nickel, a Canadian mining division of Xstrata PLC. Pearce was formerly chief operating officer of Falconbridge Ltd., which was acquired by the Swiss company Xstrata in 2006. The new company was planning to acquire LionOre Mining International Ltd.

This article focuses on the career of Ian Telfer and his involvement in the merger of Goldcorp and Wheaton River Minerals of Vancouver, Canada. The latest--and perhaps most contentious--march down the aisle was completed in February, when Rob McEwen, founder, chairman and CEO of Toronto-based Goldcorp, and Ian Telfer, chairman and CEO of upstart Wheaton River Minerals of Vancouver, toasted their nuptials with iced Veuve Clicquot. It was a marriage that almost didn't happen. Tying the knot was by no means simple for Wheaton River. Goldcorp's hard-fought battle for Wheaton was just the latest in what has been a furious period of corporate courtship in the Canadian mining industry. Ian Telfer will be the first to tell you he's not an operations guy. But then again, neither was Rob McEwen--he was still able to build Goldcorp into one of Canada's most profitable gold operators. But while McEwen and Telfer have much in common, their personalities--and styles--couldn't be more different. Telfer hasn't always been so successful with his market timing. Just over three years ago, he had to watch the dot-com venture he created out of a failing junior gold company crash to earth along with dozens of other once-hot Internet startups. INSETS: All that glitters;A blast from the past.

The article discusses the relationship between the increase in smaller-scale merger-and-acquisition (M&A) activity and a boost in mining equities in Canada. Smaller deals in the range of a few hundred million dollars to 1 billion U.S. dollars is expected as investors withdraw from large deals for senior producers. The factors that determine the continuation of the M&A trend include China's ambitions and the re-emergence of private equity as a player.

The article reports on the merger of two Brascan mining companies, Noranda and Falconbridge. Base metals are so hot these days, even Brascan is rethinking its plan to sell off its investments in the sector. Announced March 9, the deal will see Noranda snatch up the 41% of Falconbridge it doesn't already own, while Brascan substantially reduces its stake in the combined company through a stock swap--but does not get out completely, as originally planned with the proposed sale of Noranda to China Minmetals Corp. It is a change of plans for all involved. The merger is being sold as a way to realize economies of scale and simplify corporate structures, which could attract more institutional investors. "We think the merger and the resulting larger market cap will allow these companies to achieve a valuation similar to its peers," says Bruce Flatt, CEO of Brascan. By keeping a small piece of Noranda, Flatt is riding the resource boom--for now.

The article discusses Norander Inc. When Terence Corcoran, editorial voice of the Financial Post, ends up on the same side of an issue as the NDP's Bill Blaikie, you know something is not right in the universe. But that's what happened two weeks ago when a deal was announced that would see veteran Canadian miner Noranda Inc. sold to state-owned China Minmetals Corp. for at least $6 billion. There's no deal yet. Minmetals has been granted a period of exclusive due diligence, after which time there could be a binding agreement. But that didn't stop critics from trying to shoot it up on the runway. Blaikie stood in the House and questioned the human-rights record of the Chinese firm. Corcoran blasted the deal on ideological grounds, suggesting there was no good economic reason for it. The deal to acquire Noranda, which also owns 59% of nickel-and-copper producer Falconbridge, has sparked questionable allegations that Ottawa is being run by Beijing, and a rumor that China would shut down Canadian smelters and ship raw ore back home to be processed. That's the high-water mark of hype, says Stanley Hartt, the chairman of Citigroup Global Markets Canada. What is really happening, says Hartt, whose firm is the financial adviser to Minmetals, is that the Chinese company is buying Canadian mining talent to help develop its own resources. James Klotz, an international lawyer who practices in Toronto, is worried about preserving opportunity here in Canada.