Inco slashes nickel operation

Inco slashes nickel operation

TORONTO (AFP): Nickel giant Inco, which has already halted development of the Voisey's Bay nickel field in Newfoundland because of a clash with the provincial government, said Friday it was slashing its staff in St. John's.

Development of the US$4.3 billion nickel deposit at Voisey's Bay was suspended indefinitely last year because the company said it would be unprofitable to accept a Newfoundland government demand that it build a smelter plant nearby.

Friday's announcement was that the company was slashing its office -- which employs mainly administrative personnel -- from 23 to just three.

Inco officials were not available when journalists tried to elicit more information about its intentions in Voisey's Bay, touted as the world's largest undeveloped nickel field.