Representatives of several Latin American mining companies went on a shopping spree in Sudbury earlier this year, courtesy of the Ontario government export assistance program’s support for incoming trade missions.Industrias Penoles procurement executives Mario Flores, Luis Eduardo Roca and Salvador Ortiz of Mexico visited Mining Technologies International, Hurley Ventilation, Synergy Controls, Maclean Engineering and Marcotte Mining immediately prior to the PDAC.
Meetings were also held with Industrial Fabrication, Miller Technolgy, RDH Mining Equipment, Rock-Tech, Mobile Parts and Metalec.
The Penoles buyers were primarily interested in utility vehicles, production drills, ventilation equipment, load-haul-dump machines and electrical substations, said Paul Reid, a business development officer with the Greater Sudbury Development Corporation (GSDC).
One of the largest mining companies in Mexico, Industrias Penoles produces silver, gold, lead and zinc from a number of mines located throughout the country.
Votorantim Metals’ general supply manager, Luis Alexandre Gonclaves, and Yamana Gold supply chain director Marcelo Conde visited with many of the same Northern Ontario suppliers following the PDAC.
Sao Paulo-based Votorantim Metals produces nickel, aluminum and zinc from seven mines and processing facilities in Brazil. Part of the family-owned Votorantim Group with interests in finance, mining, energy and steel, the Metals group is among the six largest zinc producers in the world. Yamana Gold is a Canadian based gold producer with operations in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Colombia.
Representatives from all three companies identified the products and services they were interested in and selected the companies they wanted to meet from lists and websites supplied by the GSDC and the City of North Bay.
Both incoming missions are expected to result in business opportunities for Northern Ontario suppliers.
