TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Shareholders of Canada's Quadra Mining and FNX Mining have approved a plan to merge the two companies.

Both base-metals producers held shareholders meetings on Wednesday, at which Quadra's shareholders approved the deal by 97,2% of the votes cast, and FNX shareholders approved it by 96,8%.

Under the terms of the deal, first announced on March 23, each FNX share will be exchanged for 0,87 Quadra shares and $0,0001.

The parties intend to seek court approval of the transaction on May 20 and expect the deal to close on May 21.

The new company is expected to have 2011 revenues of $1,5-billion, with combined production estimated at 300-million pounds of copper and 150 000 oz of precious metals, plus gold, platinum and palladium by-product credits, FNX and Quadra said when unveiling the deal.

FNX is currently mining copper- and precious-metals-rich ore at its McCreedy West and Podolsky mines, all in Sudbury, Ontario, after it halted nickel-ore production in 2008 in response to weak demand and prices for the metal.

It also plans to start commercial production in mid-2010 from its high-grade Levack Footwall deposit in the same camp.

While all FNX's mines are underground and in Canada, Quadra produces copper from the Carlota mine in the US, the Robinson mine in Nevada, as well as the new Franke mine, in Chile, which it acquired last year. All three are openpit operations.

In March, Quadra announced it had agreed to form a joint venture in Chile, including Franke and the company's Sierra Gorda development project, with Chinese utility State Grid Corporation.

LEVACK FOOTWALL

Meanwhile, FNX announced separately it has renamed its Levack footwall deposit the 'Morrison' deposit, in honour of the company's senior vice-president for exploration, Gord Morrison.

The Morrison deposit is a 'typical' Sudbury basin, high-grade copper/precious metal/nickel footwall deposit which has, from a limited part of the deposit, current NI 43-101 probable mineral reserves of 1,3-million tons at 7,4% copper, 1,5% nickel and 0,20 oz/t platinum, palladium and gold.

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