Marubeni, a Japanese integrated trading and investment business conglomerate, agreed to acquire a 19.8% stake in Alliance Magnesium, a Quebec company involved in the production of magnesium from serpentine mine tailings in Asbestos, for C$16.7m. Marubeni has been involved in the aluminum business over the years and saw demand also increasing from light vehicles and invested in the Alouette aluminum smelter from its beginning in 1989 and which produces primary aluminum by using hydroelectric power in Quebec.