USA and Canada

Osisko Mining Corporation has deposited $22.1 million with the Quebec Government, representing 50 percent of its financial guarantee to cover the entire future cost of rehabilitating its new Canadian Malartic mine site in the Abitibi region of Quebec.

The balance of the guarantee will be remitted as two subsequent payments of $11.05 million each, to be made on or around September 1, 2012 and September 1, 2013.

Despite historic levels of unemployment, American manufacturing companies are struggling to fill as many as 600,000 skilled positions, according to a new survey from Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute.

The survey Boiling Point? The skills gap in US manufacturing, polled a nationally representative sample of 1,123 executives at manufacturing companies recently and revealed that 5 percent of current manufacturing jobs are unfilled due to a lack of qualified candidates.

International Paper today announced the completion of its acquisition of a 75 percent stake in Andhra Pradesh Paper Mills (APPM) of India.

International Paper purchased 53.5 percent of the APPM shares from Mr LN Bangur and related family members and affiliates for approximately US$226 million in cash, plus $57 million for a covenant not to compete.

It has also acquired an additional 21.5 percent of APPM shares in a public tender offer completed on October 8, 2011, for approximately US$105 million in cash.

Canadian gold producer Agnico-Eagle Mines and Grayd Resource Corporation announced jointly today that Agnico-Eagle has formally commenced its $275 million take-over bid to acquire Grayd.

Agnico-Eagle is a long established gold producer with operations in Canada, Finland and Mexico and exploration and development activities in Canada, Finland, Mexico and the United States.

Rolls-Royce has announced a partnership with Pratt & Whitney to develop next generation engines for mid-size aircraft, as well as a restructuring of the companies’ International Aero Engines collaboration.

The new partnership will see the two companies developing engines for mid-size aircraft (capable of carrying 120 to 230 passengers) that will replace the existing mid-size fleet. Both companies will hold an equal share in the joint venture.

PepsiCo today reported growth in volume, net revenue, operating profit and earnings per share for the third quarter of 2011.

The company reported top-line gains across its worldwide snacks and beverage businesses and from the acquisition of Wimm-Bill-Dann (WBD), the leading dairy and juice company in Russia.

Worldwide snacks volume grew 8 percent in the quarter and 7 percent year to date, while worldwide beverage volume grew 4 percent in the quarter and 6 percent year to date.

Superior Energy Services has announced an agreement to acquire Complete Production Services for $2.7 billion.

The boards of directors of both companies have unanimously approved a definitive merger agreement combining the two companies into a diversified mid-cap oilfield services company.

New Orleans, Louisiana-based Superior Energy Services was founded in 1989 as an oilfield products manufacturing company before branching out into services.

Canada’s Daylight Energy is to be acquired by Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration and Production Corporation (SIPC) for approximately C$2.2 billion.

Daylight is a growing intermediate oil and liquids rich natural gas producing company with a high quality suite of resource play assets in Western Canada.

DuPont has announced the start-up of its $500 million Cooper River Kevlar facility near Charleston, South Carolina in the United States.

The new facility is expected to add an initial 25 percent increase in overall global production capacity for Kevlar, with a 40 percent increase expected after continued technology developments over the next two years.

Tributes are pouring in from all over the world after the death of iconic Apple co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs yesterday at the age of 56.