Xstrata plc is an Anglo-Swiss multinational mining company headquartered in Zug, Switzerland and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom.It is a major producer of coal (and the world's largest exporter of thermal coal), copper, nickel, primary vanadium and zinc and the world's largest producer offerrochrome. It has operations in 19 countries across Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, North America and South America.Xstrata has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It had a market capitalisation of approximately £29 billion as of 23 December 2011, making it the 16th-largest company on the London Stock Exchange.It has a secondary listing on the SIX Swiss Exchange. Its largest shareholder is Glencore International plc, which has a stake of approximately 34%.The company was founded in 1926 in Switzerland as Südelektra, an infrastructure and electricity projects concern operating in Latin America. In 1990, Marc Rich + Co AG became its majority shareholder. In the 1990s it diversified into mining and disposed of its non-core businesses.It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2002 at which time it acquired Glencore's coal assets in Australia and South Africa.In 2003, it doubled in size with the A$2.9 billion takeover of Australian copper, zinc and lead miner MIM Holdings.However, it failed in a 2005 bid for another Australian miner, WMC Resources, which was captured by BHP Billiton, the world's biggest mining company.In 2003 Xstrata closed its recently purchased Windimurra Vanadium plant in Western Australia.In August 2005, Xstrata purchased a 19.9% stake in Falconbridge Limited, a diversified Canadian mining company producing copper, nickel, aluminum, lead and zinc. Following a contested take-over battle with Inco Limited, Xstrata successfully acquired the remaining 80.1% of Falconbridge in August 2006.In 2006, The Northern Territory and Australian Governments approved the expansion of the McArthur River zinc mine, near the popular fishing destination of Borrooloola. The expansion involves diversion of the river to a new 5.5 km channel, to allow construction of a massive open-cut pit in the existing river.On behalf of the Traditional Owners of the region – the Yanyuwa, Mara, Garrawa and Gurdanji peoples – the Northern Land Council launched a legal challenge to the Northern Territory Government’s decision to approve the mining of and diversion of the McArthur River. On 1 May 2007, The Northern Territory Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Northern Land Council to stop the expansion. On 3 May 2007, the Northern Territory government rushed through retrospective legislation to overrule the court decision and allow the open-cut mine to proceed.On May 28, 2012 violent repression of local residents of the province of Espinar, Cuzco, by the Police, has caused the deaths of two civilians. The inhabitants protest against the pollution of the water sources caused by Xstrata's mining activities.. The government has decreed a State of Emergency and suspended civil liberties guaranteed in the Constitution.
Net income $ 5.933 billion (2011)