Latest news with #HorneSmelter
Cision Canada
2 days ago
- Business
- Cision Canada
Aeris Project Feasibility Study: Horne Smelter Proposes a New Optimized Approach to Achieve its Environmental Targets Français
ROUYN-NORANDA, QC, June 10, 2025 /CNW/ - The Horne Smelter is unveiling today the conclusions of the feasibility study for its Aeris project, launched in 2024. This rigorous process, carried out with top internal and external expertise, aimed to objectively evaluate the project from multiple perspectives: technical, environmental, occupational health and safety, as well as financial. The Aeris Project, in its current form, is not feasible The study's conclusions appear clear to us: given the complexity of the Aeris project, implementing it fully would compromise the operational stability, as well as long-term viability of the plant, and would have extended the timeframe to achieve our emissions targets. However, this work allowed us to identify an optimized approach that, we hope, will achieve the desired environmental performance. Three key findings emerge from the study: The project involves complex construction. Building on existing infrastructure, combined with challenging ground conditions and a large number of unavoidable interferences, would make construction extremely challenging. Integrating Aeris would require significantly more equipment and infrastructure than originally anticipated. It would mean a complete overhaul of the production process, which would also take much more time. Successfully introducing new technologies at the plant depends on essential technical conditions that are not currently met. Their integration could impact the entire production chain—even the ability to produce copper itself. An Optimized Approach to Reach 15 ng/m³ Considering the work conducted during the feasibility study, and building on the results of transitional measures to improve air emissions already implemented, the Horne Smelter has developed an optimized approach to aim to reach the arsenic target: an annual average of 15 ng/m³ in ambient air, measured at the sampling station closest to the Smelter (legal station). This new strategy includes encapsulating the smelting zone—encompassing all key equipment such as the reactor, Noranda converter, converters, and anodes—to better control emissions at the source. This will be combined with high-performance purification systems, already proven and compatible with the current process. This approach offers the potential to deliver of tangible, material improvements in air quality, while safeguarding the safety, operational stability, and long-term sustainability of the smelter. The new optimized approach we wish to propose, as well as its implantation timeline, will require governmental approvals "I'm extremely proud of the rigorous work carried out by our teams. Thanks to their commitment, we've found a solution that will allow us to deliver results with more predictability than Aeris. This is excellent news for the Rouyn-Noranda community and our teams," said Vincent Plante, Executive General Manager, North America Copper Value Chain. "Moreover, our 2024 results clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of this new direction: the average arsenic concentration in ambient air, measured at the legal monitoring station, has dropped by 46.5% since 2022, reaching 39.1 ng/m³ in 2024—below the regulatory ceiling of 45 ng/m³. 99% of the urban area of Rouyn-Noranda has an average arsenic concentration equal to or below 15 ng/m³. The team and I look forward to engaging with our stakeholders regarding this optimised approach." About Glencore Horne Smelter The Horne Smelter, a division of Glencore Canada, is a metallurgical facility internationally recognized for its copper processing operations. It produces 210,000 tonnes of copper and precious metals annually. In addition to its renowned expertise in processing complex materials, the Horne Smelter plays a key role in North America in processing metal-bearing recycled products. The facility employs more than 650 people in its Rouyn-Noranda plant in Quebec, and works with many contractors. All its copper anode production is shipped to CCR Refinery in Montréal, where another 500 workers contribute to the North American copper and critical minerals value chain.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Prospect of U.S. tariffs haunting Canadian copper sector
United States President Donald Trump is laying the groundwork for tariffs on copper that could send shockwaves through the eastern part of Canada's sector and ultimately benefit China. Canada in 2023 produced 2.2 per cent of global mined copper, less than half of what's produced in the U.S., which accounted for five per cent. Nonetheless, more than half the copper produced in Canada, mainly from the eastern part of the country, was shipped to the U.S., making up a large portion of the imports there. But Canadian sector leaders are now worrying they could lose out while metal traders sitting behind desks win in other parts of the world due to the emerging possibility that copper will be dragged into the Canada-U.S. trade war and then both sides imposing tariffs in a tit-for-tat escalation. 'The impact of tariffs will be felt in Eastern Canada, where Glencore recycles e-waste that comes from the U.S., producing copper and other metals that go back to the U.S.,' Pierre Gratton, president of the Mining Association of Canada, an industry lobby group, said. He said Glencore also operates the country's lone copper smelter — the Horne Smelter in Rouyn-Noranda, Que, and that facility posts 'very small margins, so any increase in costs can be very serious.' A Glencore spokesman declined to comment on the impact that tariffs could have on the company or its Horne Smelter, which receives a portion of its feedstock from the U.S. Overall, the company has both a metals and mining division and a metals trading division, also known as marketing. In February, chief executive Gary Nagle said the marketing division benefits from the uncertainty caused by Trump's tariffs. 'Although maybe long term these tariffs may not be so good for global growth,' he said on a Feb. 19 earnings call, 'in the short term, as we see this volatility and this heightened uncertainty, it raises our ability to get better returns off our marketing business because of these dislocations and arbitrage opportunities.' Still, that is unlikely to benefit workers connected to Horne's operations. In December, Glencore cut 85 people from the 100-person team that oversees the plant in Montreal as part of a cost-cutting reorganization of its smelting business. The facility benefits from Quebec's low energy costs and experienced workforce, but it has also been hurt by rising copper prices: On Tuesday, U.S. copper futures hit an all-time high of US$5.83 per pound, up around 30 per cent for the year and breaking the record set last May. 'Tariffs risk upsetting the global copper market,' said Kevin Gagnon, president of the Federation of the Manufacturing Industry, a trade union that represents regional mine workers. 'Uncertainty is not good news in a context where we need to increase copper production to electrify our economies.' He said copper tariffs are likely to hurt Quebec workers to the extent that they make it too expensive for Horne to import scrap. 'The U.S. doesn't have the capacity to recycle e-waste and its copper smelting capacity is generally limited,' he said, 'so a trade war on copper will only hurt all of North America and benefit China.' Tom Mulqueen, an analyst at Citigroup Inc., earlier this month said he expects tariffs could ultimately weaken copper consumption, which could lead prices lower. But in the short term, it's having the opposite effect. 'We think U.S. copper price outperformance in anticipation of copper import tariffs is already having a physical tightening effect on the ex-U.S. market by driving higher U.S. refined copper imports and discouraging scrap exports,' he said in a note on March 6, adding it could persist through the second quarter. Jeff Killeen, director of policy and programs at the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada, an industry group for exploration companies, said copper tariffs are a 'double-edged sword' that could lift metal prices, but also create barriers to trade. In February, Trump signed an executive order calling for an investigation to assess the national security risks of his country's dependence on copper imports, a move that has prefigured other tariff announcements. Trump's order to boost mining in U.S. could help Canada Poilievre promises to fast-track 'Ring of Fire' mining project Canada's largest copper mines are located in British Columbia and include Vancouver-based Teck Resources Ltd.'s Highland Valley Copper mine and Toronto-based Centerra Gold Inc.'s Mount Milligan Mine. Both companies have said they ship their copper concentrate into Asia, not the U.S., providing some protection from potential copper tariffs. • Email: gfriedman@ Sign in to access your portfolio
