Inco Acquiring Falconbridge

Inco Ltd. and Falconbridge Ltd. announced that their respective boards of directors have approved the acquisition of all the outstanding common shares of Falconbridge by Inco. The combined organization, to be known as Inco Limited, will be one of the world’s largest mining and metals companies in both nickel and copper.

Scott Hand, chairman and CEO of Inco Limited, said “Given the excellent growth prospects for both nickel and copper, driven in large part by continuing strong demand from China, the combined company will be positioned to generate very strong cash flow and earnings both in the near and long term, and will have the size and financial strength to take advantage of new growth opportunities as they emerge.”

The combination of Inco and Falconbridge will create:

- The world’s largest nickel producer, with pro forma combined estimated 2005 nickel output of 735 million pounds, forecast to climb to one billion pounds in 2009;

- A significant global copper producer, with pro forma combined forecast 2005 production of 1.33 billion pounds, expected to increase to about 2.4 billion pounds in 2009; and

-A leading position in combined estimated proven and probable nickel mineral reserves from both sulphide and nickel laterite deposits and a leading portfolio of existing and greenfield nickel properties.