BALMAT — A deal for HudBay Minerals to sell its Balmat zinc operation to a Montreal company is dead.

Beaufield Resources announced that due to financial and market conditions its board ended the due diligence process and notified HudBay of its decision.

Beaufield also terminated the contract of Kevin D. Weston as president and chief executive officer.

Beaufield had announced in February that it wanted to purchase the mines in St. Lawrence County from HudBay for a total of $12 million Canadian and up to $2 million Canadian in Beaufield shares.

About 200 people lost their jobs when HudBay closed the mines in 2008 because of rising operating costs and declining prices for zinc.

An earlier deal for OMT Inc. and New York Zinc, two other Canadian companies, to acquire the mine for $14 million also failed this year.

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