Doe Run Peru has announced its plan to complete an emissions-reduction project by the end of 2009 and its intention to expand environmental spending to help address health issues in the Andean community of La Oroya.
Doe Run Peru made the announcements as part of its response, submitted Monday, to 90 comments it received from Peru’s Ministry of Energy & Mines on its request to extend the company’s environmental operating agreement, known by its Spanish acronym PAMA.
The comment-response phase is a customary step in the PAMA extension process. Doe Run Peru is seeking to take more time to complete the last of nine environmental projects at its La Oroya metals processing facility.
The final project involves the construction of three sulfuric acid plants, which are expected to bring sulfur dioxide emissions within permissible limits. The request was made to prioritize the central health issue in the community, exposure to lead, which the sulfuric acid plants do not address.
Juan Carlos Huyhua, Doe Run Peru’s general manager, said the company had reduced the timeframe for the project from four years to three at the mining ministry’s request.
“To achieve this, we have had to adjust the timeframes for bringing the three plants online,” Huyhua explained. “The company’s financial resources will be directed primarily to ensuring that the remaining PAMA project is completed. As such, we expect to have the acid plant for the zinc circuit running by the end of this year, the lead circuit by 2008 and the copper circuit by the end of 2009,” Huyhua said.
Huyhua said that Doe Run Peru would direct its efforts to the additional goal of achieving improved air quality in La Oroya. The Ministry of Energy & Mines’ addition of air quality requirements is new to the mining and metals sector; the previous PAMA agreement focused solely on bringing emissions levels to within Peru’s maximum permissible limits.
With respect to the health issues, Huyhua said the company would continue to support the related programs run by Peru’s Ministry of Health, which are intended to address the effects of pollution that dates back more than 80 years, well before the 1997 arrival of Doe Run Peru in La Oroya.
He concluded by reiterating his confidence that Doe Run Peru will complete 8 of the 9 PAMA projects in December of 2006, on time. He added that the company plans to invest a total of some $200 million on PAMA projects, nearly doubling the financial commitment the company made when it bought the La Oroya metallurgical complex in October of 1997.
“We will continue to work for the future of La Oroya, the Junin region, and Peru,” Huyhua said.
Based in St. Louis, The Doe Run Company is a privately held natural resources company dedicated to environmentally responsible mineral production, metals fabrication, recycling and reclamation. The company and its subsidiaries deliver products and services needed to provide power, protection and convenience through premium products and associated metals including lead, zinc, copper, gold and silver. As the operator of one of the world’s only multi-metal facilities and the Americas’ largest integrated lead producer, Doe Run employs more than 4,000 people, with U.S. operations in Missouri, Washington and Arizona, and Peruvian operations in Cobriza and La Oroya. Committed to sustainable development, The Doe Run Company has helped bring electrical power, business training, educational opportunities and improved telecommunications to rural communities in Peru and the U.S. For more information, visit http://www.doerun.com.
“Safe Harbor” Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements.” These forward-looking statements may be significantly impacted, either positively or negatively, by various factors, including without limitation, the Company’s ability to satisfy its debt and environmental obligations, regulatory compliance with local state and federal governmental agencies, financing sources, potential and actual litigation, weather, permits, raw materials cost, competition and business conditions in the mining and recyclable industries. As a result, the forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the statements herein. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, see the risk factors set forth in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year.
