Mining firm relocates to Sandy

State and local officials gathered Wednesday to welcome to Utah a company that selected Sandy for its national headquarters.

Cementation USA Inc., involved in underground mine contracting and engineering, had announced in June that it would move its base to Salt Lake County from Nevada and create 422 full-time jobs over the next decade.

The company said it plans to invest more than $5.5 million in buying mining equipment locally, in addition to establishing the headquarters.

In a prepared statement, Mike Nadon, president of Cementation USA, said a state financial incentive "certainly helped us to conclude our search" for a new headquarters site.

"We have already received a warm welcome from several members of the Utah business community, due in large part to the efforts of EDCUtah," he said. "Other factors that influenced our decision to locate to Utah included Salt Lake's central location to the mining activity that takes place in the surrounding states and the fact that Salt Lake possesses a strong mining community."

Nadon also mentioned local engineering talent and "an excellent environment" for employees and their families.

The company's incentive from the state is a tax credit of about $3.3 million. State documents estimate that the move will add $130.2 million in new state wages over 10 years and $15.6 million in new state revenue during the next 10 years.

Cementation USA is involved in the initial phases of three large projects in the United States: the Rio Tinto Resolution Copper Mine in Superior, Ariz.; the Hecla Lucky Friday Mine in Mullan, Idaho; and the Kennecott Eagle project in Marquette, Mich.

Cementation USA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cementation Canada, which was incorporated in Canada as Kvaerner Cementation in 1998 and later purchased by South Africa-based Murray & Roberts Cementation.

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E-mail: bwallace@desnews.com