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Chapter 7 From Local to Global Monopoly The Merging of Inco and Mond (1902–1928) The urban setting associated with Sudbury and Copper Cliff prior to the Great Depression was intimately associated with the growth of the mining sector. The formation of the International Nickel Company in 1902 marked the beginning of a significant phase in its march toward global dominance. By 1905, Sudbury had become the chief supplier of nickel to the world, replacing the island of New Caledonia located in the South Pacific Ocean east of Australia. New Caledonia, however, remained important for International Nickel as a political foil. Whenever the Ontario government threatened its position, the company always hinted at the possibility of shifting operations to New Caledonia.1 Following reorganization in 1912, the company’s name was changed to The International Nickel Company. In keeping with its intention to build a nickel refinery in Canada, the name was changed in 1916 to The International Nickel Company of Canada. While local competitors such as Mond Nickel and British America Nickel appeared along the way, they were eventually swallowed up by this mining colossus. British America went into liquidation in 1924, and its assets were acquired by Inco (the registered trademark of the company since 1919) in the following year. As a result of a quirk in the location of the Frood deposit, Mond came under Inco’s control in 1929, thereby ensuring the company’s global monopoly. While Falconbridge Nickel Mines was incorporated earlier, in 1928, it remained until the 1950s before it attained any real significance in the nickel industry. Mond Nickel Company One of the few companies to share Sudbury’s mineral wealth with International Nickel was Mond Nickel, a British company under the control of the Mond family. Ludwig Mond, the founder, had acquired some properties in Sudbury in 1899; he founded Mond Nickel the following year. The ability of Mond to penetrate the industry was due to its 110 From Local to Global Monopoly friendly relationship with International Nickel. In part, this relationship was necessary to International Nickel because of Mond’s wealth, its established business networks, and most importantly, its superior refining process. Since Mond showed interest mainly in selling to the British government rather than joining the North American market, and declared no intention of erecting a refinery in Canada, it was able to negotiate a cartel form of market share and price-fixing arrangement with its competitor, one that lasted up to the outbreak of the First World War. In short, Mond served as the perfect ploy for International Nickel to refute accusations that it was a foreign monopolist in Canada.2 From the beginning, Mond was thus not a competitor, but rather a useful ally of International Nickel.3 International Nickel did not have this cozy relationship with other companies that attempted to penetrate the American market. In 1904, the Consolidated Lake Superior Corporation run by the energetic F.H. Clergue was forced into bankruptcy because of the strong financial control which J.P. Morgan and Company held over corporate undertakings related to its steel and nickel interests in the United States. Morgan likewise used his financial clout to bring about the demise of the Nickel-Copper Company in 1907, and the Canadian-based Dominion Nickel-Copper in 1912. The latter company, however, succeeded in selling its properties, which in 1913 were brought under the umbrella of the British America Nickel Corporation. Following its acquisition of the Victoria Mine (formerly McConnell) in 1899, Mond proceeded in 1901 to construct a roast yard to reduce the sulphur content found in the raw ores, and a smelter to remove any of the remaining metals for further processing. This also necessitated the construction of a townsite at the Victoria Mine station on the CPR railway, and the completion of a 3.4-kilometre-long aerial tramway (a raised line of moving buckets containing raw ore) connecting the mine to the roast yard and smelter site. Remnants of this tramway can still be seen there today. The company also purchased eighteen mining properties, including Garson Mine in 1907. Ores from Garson were sent to the Victoria smelter. In line with its understanding with International Nickel, Mond started a new refinery at Clydach, Wales. The power required for Mond’s operations came from the Wabageshik Dam situated on the Vermilion River built in 1909.4 In 1910, Mond bought the Frood extension. Aware that its existing smelter at Victoria Mines was poorly sited with...

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