** nickel jv -falconbridge ** One of Canada’s leading nickel...

** nickel jv -falconbridge ** One of Canada’s leading nickel mining analysts believes Switzerland-based XStrata might make a bid in the next three weeks to purchase full control of Falconbridge Ltd. This would force Inco Ltd. to increase its $12.5 billion cash and stocks offer made in an historic friendly takeover bid to
merge Inco and Falconbridge in early October.


Raymond Goldie, one of the country’s most respected experts on the nickel industry who works for Salman Partners in Toronto, said XStrata, which currently owns 20 percent interest in Falconbridge, “has no intentions” of trying to take over full ownership of the parent company, but wants to force Inco to increase its bid.


Inco will have no choice but to up the ante if any XStrata bid is marginally better than Inco’s, said Goldie.