Sudbury

Inco has been operating in Sudbury for over 100 years. Located about 400 km north of Toronto, Canada and surrounded by lakes and wilderness, the City of Greater Sudbury is the educational, medical, and retail centre of Northeastern Ontario. Approximately 4,400 of its 165,000 residents are Inco employees and over 10,000 are Inco pensioners.

Inco's mining and refining operations in Sudbury are now among the largest in the world. The Sudbury Basin possesses untapped deposits of nickel and copper that help ensure mining will continue to play an important role in the life of the community.

Community Involvement

The partnership between the Sudbury community and Inco has been rewarding on both sides. Inco has a long history of corporate leadership and support of the Sudbury area.

We support a cross-section of programs in health care, education, social services and the arts, helping to make Sudbury a better place to live. Over and above our approximately $250,000 (Cdn. $350,000) community donations budget, Inco makes major financial contributions that support Sudbury's goal of achieving economic diversity.

We have been a long-time supporter of Science North. In 1981, the company donated Cdn $5 million to Science North. At the time, it was the largest corporate donation to a community project in Canadian history.

Environmental Stewardship

For our operating plants, there are established limits on the discharges of substances that may cause environmental impacts in the natural environment. For reclamation and closure projects, there are guidelines for air, water and soil, as well as restoration that need to be met.
Inco in Sudbury has made significant investments to improve its environmental performance, including close to $700 million (Cdn. $1 billion) in equipment and technology upgrades to drastically reduce sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions. Since the 1970s, we have reduced annual SO2 emissions by 90 per cent. In 2003, we initiated construction of a Cdn. $ 115 million fluid bed roaster, which was completed in the spring of 2006. This new facility is set to reduce SO2 emissions by an additional 90 kilotonnes by the end of 2006.

As an active participant in Earthcare, Inco partners with the City of Greater Sudbury and other community members to improve the environment, ensure economic viability and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to improve the quality of life in the Greater Sudbury area.
We support the Laurentian University Cooperative Freshwater Ecology Unit, a multi-stakeholder organization with a range of participants including Inco. The unit focuses on ecological research. Among the research conducted to date, the unit has documented significant improvements in water quality as emission reductions have occurred.

Sudbury Soils Study

In 2001, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MOE) reported metal levels in Sudbury soils that exceeded recommended levels. Inco is committed to evaluating the ecological and human health risks of our historical operations in the region.
We are participating in the Sudbury Soils Study, one of the most comprehensive studies of its kind in North America. This is a voluntary community partnership involving the Ministry of the Environment (MOE), the Sudbury and District Health Unit, the City of Greater Sudbury, Health Canada First Nations and Inuit Health Branch and Falconbridge Limited.

Regreening Program

Regreening is an important and visible part of Inco's significant Environmental Stewardship program. Inco has received international acclaim for our contribution to reclaiming the Sudbury landscape, both on our own property and on public lands through the Vegetation Enhancement Technical Advisory Committee of the City of Greater Sudbury. While the effects of early lumbering and mining practices are still visible, reforestation is gradually returning the area landscape to its natural state. Using both surface and underground greenhouses, Inco grows some 250,000 seedlings each year for reforestation purposes. We have transformed thousands of acres of land affected by air emissions into parkland, bird sanctuaries and wildlife habitat. Today, we are integrating reclamation into the earliest stages of new project development.