MINING

Falconbridge Buys Nickel Mine for $2.92 Billion: Diamond Fields Resources Inc., which controls one of the world’s biggest nickel deposits, agreed to a buyout by Falconbridge Ltd. The $2.92-billion deal offers Toronto-based Falconbridge the chance to close the gap with its cross-town rival Inco Ltd., which is the Western Hemisphere’s largest nickel producer. If completed, it would be the fifth-largest takeover in history involving a Canadian company. Diamond Fields’ main asset is the Voisey’s Bay nickel-copper deposit in Labrador in northeastern Canada. Production at the deposit, one of the world’s biggest, is expected to begin in 2000. Financial analysts said a bidding war could erupt, with Inco the most likely competitor for Diamond Fields.