The Horne Smelter () is an industrial complex in

Rouyn-Noranda Rouyn-Noranda (; Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population 42,313) is a city on Osisko Lake in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of Quebec, Canada. The city of Rouyn-Noranda is coextensive with a territory equivalent to a regional county municipalit ...

, Quebec. It is Canada's only copper smelter, and the largest processor of metals from electronic scrap in North America.

History

The smelter is named after prospector Edmund Horne. The first copper pour took place on December 17, 1927.

Operations

The smelter produces copper anodes of 99.1% purity. Its feedstock consists of both copper concentrate sourced from mines and shredded

electronic waste Electronic waste (or e-waste) describes discarded electrical or electronics, electronic devices. It is also commonly known as waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) or end-of-life (EOL) electronics. Used electronics which are destined ...

. Copper from electronic scrap comprises 15% of its production. In addition to copper and other metals, the facility also produces

sulfuric acid Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen, ...

. Commissioned in 1989, production from the sulfuric acid plant amounts to 640,000 metric tons per year, recovering some 96% of the sulfur generated by the smelting process.

Economic impact

The smelter employs around 650 people. Its economic benefit has been placed at $500 million per year.

Environmental issues

Emissions

Emitting 100 nanograms of

arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol As and atomic number 33. It is a metalloid and one of the pnictogens, and therefore shares many properties with its group 15 neighbors phosphorus and antimony. Arsenic is not ...

per cubic metre, the Horne Smelter operates at 33 times the determined arsenic threshold acceptable by the Quebec Ministry of Environment.

Public Health

A June 2022 study published by Quebec's public health body, the , showed that the smelter had exposed the town of Rouyn-Noranda to harmful levels of arsenic and cadmium for decades, resulting in elevated levels of lung cancer. Sections of the report which would elicit a stronger correlation between arsenic emissions from the smelter and lung cancer in the local population were removed by Dr. Horacio Arruda, former Public Health Director of Quebec. Arruda claims he had no intention of distorting the report results. Emissions control discussions between the Quebec government and

Glencore Glencore plc is an Anglo-Swiss Multinational corporation, multinational commodity trading and mining company with headquarters in Baar, Switzerland, Baar, Switzerland. Glencore's oil and gas headquarters are in London, London, England as well a ...

, the company owning the smelter, have agreed on the short-term inability of the corporation to reduce emissions on grounds of regional economic reliance on the smelter, despite public opposition to the current threshold. The Quebec government has since announced the relocation of 200 households from the

region outside of determined

buffer zone A buffer zone, also historically known as a march, is a neutral area that lies between two or more bodies of land; usually, between countries. Depending on the type of buffer zone, it may serve to separate regions or conjoin them. Common types o ...

s from the

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

, without prior input from locals, signalling issues of

procedural justice Procedural justice is the idea of fairness in the processes that resolve disputes and allocate resources. One aspect of procedural justice is related to discussions of the administration of justice and legal proceedings. This sense of procedura ...

. While some locals view the relocation as beneficial to their safety, others are torn at the loss of their communities. Public support for the Stop Toxic Emissions and Waste movement against the emissions have also contributed to increased socio-economic tensions in the area as the smelter provides the region with 600 jobs. The Quebec government has required that Glencore propose plans to drastically reduce emissions, but fails to outline any timeframe within which such standards should be met. Studies have shown that sustained exposure to high arsenic levels expected to be experienced by locals within the undefined action timeline will cause undue cases of cancer, compounded by threats of residual arsenic concentrations in the environment past emissions control due to pollution of snow deposits.

References

{{reflist Copper smelters Pollution in Canada Air pollution Environment of Quebec Economy of Quebec Casting (manufacturing)