Falconbridge is shutting down its Sudbury smelter for nine weeks this summer because the nickel company cannot find enough feed to keep it operating at high capacity. A company official says it was basically an economical decision. No decision has yet been made on what weeks it will be shut down, but it will likely take place sometime in July and August. This year the smelter is expected to handle 27,000 tonnes of nickel from Sudbury's four mines, plus 26,000 tonnes from Falconbridge's Raglan operations in northern Quebec. Recently the company announced a $21-million fourth quarter loss in 2001 due to low metal prices, but overall made a $16-million profit last year.
