Ventures1 Biggest Venture

Two years ago Aluminum Co. of America announced a plan to build a huge aluminum smelter at Skagway, Alaska, to be powered by harnessing the waters of the upper Yukon River. The project was to cost $400 million. But there was one hitch. The Canadian government wanted the industry to be located where the power came from: in Canada. Last week Alcoa's big plan became just a set of useless blueprints. British Columbia gave the go-ahead for developing the vast power potential of the Yukon to Canada's Ventures Ltd., big mining and metal holding company headed by publicity-shy Thayer Lindsley of Toronto (TIME, June 15,

1953)-Lindsley's plan, which will eventually cost $700 million to $1 billion, is to divert the flow of the Yukon and other rivers, build storage dams, tunnels, penstocks and generating plants that could provide 4,300,000 horsepower of electricity, about twice what can be got from the St. Lawrence Seaway power project. All these installations, as well as the metalworking plants which would use the power, would be located in Canada.

In giving its approval, British Columbia laid down some stiff conditions for Lindsley. He must put up a $2,500,000 bond, which will be forfeited if he fails to meet any one of the annual development targets between 1955 and 1962. Furthermore. in the case of such failure. Lindsley will lose his license to the water rights, as well as the full value of work done up to that time. Unlike an earlier deal worked out with Aluminum Co. of Canada for its Kitimat project (see THE HEMISPHERE), Lindsley's agreement calls for no tax concessions, no special rates for water used, and he must clear all land to be flooded.

Despite such restrictions, Lindsley could well be elated over his big project. It can mean rapid development of a rich and virtually untapped area, with an inland water storage system on the continent second only to the Great Lakes. As rapidly as possible, smelters and refineries will be installed to process iron, steel, cobalt, nickel, manganese alloys and aluminum. With Alcoa out of the picture, another U.S. aluminum company. Reynolds Metals, came in. Reynolds will probably supply a third of the capital for the $270 million first stage of the project, scheduled for 1962, and eventually use a third of the power for aluminum refining.

Although total assets of Ventures Ltd. are only about $28 million, backers of the project showed little concern over the enormous financing that will be necessary. They are confident that big insurance companies and pension funds, as well as small investors, will be willing to stake their funds on northern Canada's promising new industrial development, with its assurance of inexpensive power.

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