Sherritt International

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Sherritt International Corporation
Type Public (TSX: S)
Industry Mining, Oil and Gas
Founded 1927
Headquarters Toronto, Ontario Canada
Key people Hap Stephen, Chairman; David Pathe, President & CEO
Products nickel, cobalt, coal, oil, gas, power, fertilizer
Revenue $2.0 billion CAD (2011)
Employees 7,670 (2011)[1]
Website www.sherritt.com

Sherritt International (TSX: S) is a Canadian resource company, based in Toronto, Ontario. The company's business interests include nickel and cobalt mining, thermal coal production, oil and gas exploration and production, and electricity generation. Sherritt is one of the largest foreign investors in Cuba.

Operations

Mining

Structures on the grounds of the Sherritt plant, Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada.

Sherritt has most of its profit coming from mining operations. Sherritt licenses its proprietary technologies and provides metallurgical services to mining and refining operations worldwide. The company has a portfolio of mineral rights on which it earns royalties from the production of coal, potash and other minerals.

The company has coal mines in Alberta and Saskatchewan and nickel laterite mines in Moa, Cuba and near Moramanga, Madagascar. Sherritt has metal refineries in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada and in Toamasina, Madagascar. Sherritt produces nickel, cobalt, ammonia, sulphuric acid, and ammonium sulphate at its Fort Saskatchewan facility.

Sherritt coal revenue is derived from its ownership of Prairie Mines and Royalties Ltd., which produced over 30 million tonnes of coal for electricity production in 2011.[2] Sherritt's Coal Division completed land reclamation on nearly 1000 hectares in 2011.[3]

Nickel mining operations at the Ambatovy mine in Madagascar began production in second quarter 2012[4] and the Ambatovy project received its export permit in Q3 2012.[5] Sherritt holds 40% ownership of the project. Sherrit's partners in the project are Japan's Sumitomo Corporation and the Korea Investment Corporation. In December 2010, Sherritt estimated the project would cost US$4.76 billion.[6] Ambatovy is positioned to become the world’s biggest lateritic nickel mine by 2013-2014. The Ambatovy project is an integrated production system encompassing all stages from mining to refinery in the same country.[7] Current Employment at Ambatovy is approximately 9,000 (3,500 employees, 6,000 operations contractors); 90% Malagasy.[8] In 2011 before Ambatovy, Sherrit was the ninth largest nickel producer in the world.[9]

Oil and gas

Sherritt operates oil and gas fields leased from the Cuban government (Varadero, Yumuri, Puetro Escondido) and has interest in some fields in Spain and Pakistan. Sherritt has invested CDN $215 million for the construction of two integrated gas processing and electrical generation systems in Cuba. The natural gas feedstock was previously flared and wasted. These operations commissioned in mid-2002 have a combined capacity of 226 megawatts. Sherritt has natural gas activities on the island. Sherrit built and operates a natural gas feeder pipeline network, and a 30 Kilometer pipeline to Havana. In 2010, Cuba’s onshore and coastal 2010 crude oil production was estimated at approximately 50,000 barrels per day, of which 11,128 barrels per day represents Sherritt’s net equity in that production.[10]

Electricity

Sherritt owns 30% of Energas, an electricity producing company in Cuba. Energas supplies 11.6% of Cuba’s electric power.[11] The nickel mined by the company can be used to make cheaper solar cells.[12] Nickel is used to make batteries and new developments in batteries use nickel.[13]

Coal - Carbon Development Partnership

The Carbon Development Partnership is an indirect 50-50 partnership between Sherritt and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan. The partnership is dedicated to the development of approximately 12 billion tonnes of undeveloped coal reserves and resources in western Canada. The coal gasification project is considered to be a clean coal technology. The project contemplates the development of a surface coal gasification facility to produce coal syngas, which in turn may be used to produce hydrogen, clean diesel and synthetic natural gas.[14]

History

There is a hydrometallurgical process named for Sherritt Gordon Mines Ltd called the Sherritt process. The Sherritt process are Cobalt extraction techniques that enhance the recovery from nickel-cobalt sulfide concentrates.

  • 1927: Incorporation of Sherritt Gordon Mines Limited.
  • 1954: Construction of the refinery at Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta.
  • 1957: Sherritt purchased the interests of Chemico in all patents in the chemical metallurgical field in which Sherritt was involved.
  • 1991: Sherritt acquires Canada Northwest Energy Limited, a producer of oil and gas.
  • 1993: Company renamed to Sherritt Inc.
  • 1994: Sherritt becomes the largest producer of nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers in Canada after acquiring fertilizer assets from Imperial Oil Limited.
  • 1995: Incorporation of Sherritt International Corporation, with interest in mining, oil and gas and technology business in Cuba. Nickel, cobalt, oil and gas production begins in Cuba.
  • 1996: Sherritt sells most of its fertilizer businesses to Agrium.
  • 1997: Sherritt acquires Dynatec Mining Corporation, merges it with Sherritt's external technologies business, and dividends the new Dynatec Corporation out to its shareholders.
  • 1998: Creation of Sherritt Power Corporation, building gas-fired electricity generation plants in Cuba, with a 30% interest in Energas.
  • 1998: Sherritt acquires 37.5 percent share of Cubacel, the cellular telephone operator in Cuba for $US 38 million. Sherritt also created a company called “Sherritt Green,” a small agricultural branch of the company, cultivating a variety of vegetables for the tourist market. Sherritt also acquired a 25 percent share of the Las Americas Hotel and golf course in Varadero and a 12.5 percent share of the Melia Habana Hotel. These investments have been sold.[15]
  • 2001: Creation of Luscar Energy Partnership in cooperation with Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board by acquiring Luscar Ltd., Canada’s largest coal producer for a deal worth $CDN 1 billion.[16]
  • 2005: Two Canadian energy conglomerates, Sherritt International and Pebercan Inc, have discovered a new oil field off Cuba's northern coast containing 100 million barrels of oil.[17]
  • 2007: Sherritt acquires Dynatec mining corporation in a friendly takeover. Among the assets was the Ambatovy mine nickel project in Madagascar.
  • 2008: Sherritt acquires all outstanding shares from Royal Utilities Income Trust. Royal Utilities Income Trust owned Prairie Mines & Royalty Ltd, that operates thermal coal mines in Saskatchewan and Alberta.[18]
  • 2008: Sherritt Technologies, a Division of Sherritt International Corporation, Licenses Technology to Chinese Zinc Producer. There are more than 35 commercial plants worldwide that currently use Sherritt technology.[19]
  • 2009: Americans are now allowed to make unlimited trips and money transfers to family in Cuba sends Sherritt shares soaring 25 percent.[20]
  • 2010: Sherritt to acquire a controlling interest from Rio Tinto in the Sulawesi Nickel Project in Indonesia. The Sulawesi Project currently ranks as one of the largest known undeveloped, greenfield laterite nickel deposits in the world.[21]
  • 2011: Sherritt doubles its quarterly profit, selling in the three-month period, 9.4 million pounds of nickel, 1.1 million pounds of cobalt, 9.1 million tonnes of thermal coal, 1.1 million barrels of oil and 159 gigawatts of electricity.[22]
  • 2013: Takota Asset Management urges Sherritt to begin a share buy back program.[23]
  • 2013: Sherritt increases dividend.[24]
  • 2013: S&P Dow Jones Canadian Index Services makes changes in the S&P/TSX Canadian Indices adding Sherritt to the S&P/TSX EQUITY INCOME INDEX.[25]

References

  1. ↑ "2011 Annual Report". Retrieved 2012-11-28. 
  2. ↑ "2011 Year-end Results". Retrieved 2012-11-28. 
  3. ↑ "2011 Sustainability Report". Retrieved 2012-11-28. 
  4. ↑ "Ambatovy Progress Update". Retrieved 2012-11-28. 
  5. ↑ "Ambatovy Receives Operating Permit". Retrieved 2012-11-28. 
  6. ↑ "Mining Journal - Sherritt raises Ambatovy costs again". 2010-12-18. Retrieved 2010-12-18. 
  7. ↑ http://www.sumitomocorp.co.jp/english/business/article/id=235
  8. ↑ http://www.ambatovy.com/docs/wp-content/uploads/factsheetVE_Update_Juin2013.pdf
  9. ↑ http://metals.about.com/od/suppliersaz/tp/10-Biggest-Nickel-Producers.htm
  10. ↑ http://www.cubastandard.com/2011/02/23/pinon-on-energy-analyzing-sherritt/
  11. ↑ http://imo2.thejakartapost.com/eversafe/2013/01/29/cuban-national-electric-system-and-6-top-power-plants/
  12. ↑ http://www.gizmag.com/nickel-and-selenium-in-solar-cells/15953/
  13. ↑ http://www.energyharvestingjournal.com/articles/military-technology-promises-battery-revolution-00004164.asp?sessionid=1
  14. ↑ http://environment.alberta.ca/documents/sherritt_dodds-roundhill_pdd.pdf
  15. ↑ http://thecubaneconomy.com/articles/2010/10/does-sherritt-international-have-a-future-in-cuba/
  16. ↑ http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2001/04/24/luscarcoal_jm_010424.html
  17. ↑ http://www.cubanet.org/CNews/y05/jan05/03e3.htm
  18. ↑ "Sherritt to buy Royal Utilities for C$700 mln by Reuters March 18, 2008". CanWest. Retrieved 2011-06-09. 
  19. ↑ http://finance.paidcontent.org/about/news/read/6088668/sherritt_technologies
  20. ↑ http://www.thestar.com/business/2009/04/14/easing_of_cuba_ban_lifts_sherritt.html
  21. ↑ http://www.republicofmining.com/2011/01/02/news-release-sherritt-to-acquire-a-controlling-interest-in-the-sulawesi-nickel-project/
  22. ↑ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/sherritt-profit-doubles-on-rising-metal-prices/article4255705/
  23. ↑ http://business.financialpost.com/2013/05/07/scott-leckie-wants-action-at-sherritt-international-including-a-stock-buy-back/
  24. ↑ http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/sherritt-announces-increase-in-quarterly-dividend-tsx-s-1761640.htm
  25. ↑ http://web.tmxmoney.com/article.php?newsid=62667491&qm_symbol=S

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