Doe Run Peru building second sulfuric acid plant

Doe Run Peru has begun construction of a $29-million lead circuit sulfuric acid plant at its La Oroya smelter in Peru, the company said Wednesday.

The plant, which will help to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions from the smelter`s chimney, is being built as part of an agreement with the Peruvian government to improve the region`s air quality.

The new La Oroya acid plant is slated to start running by September 2008.

"[The plant`s] operation will involve the completion of a series of complementary projects we are carrying out concurrently," Juan Carlos Huyhua, Doe Run Peru`s president and general manager, said. "Those projects include completing updates to the effluents treatment plant, the electric substation that will power the acid plant, and in particular, the construction of a warehouse and dispatch terminal for the sulfuric acid that is produced as the sulfur dioxide is drawn out of the plant."

A similar plant has already been built at the Oroya zinc circuit, and the company intends on building a third sulfuric acid plant for the site`s copper circuit by October 2009.

All three projects will cost more than $244 million, well beyond the $107.5 million the company committed to spending in its agreement with the Peruvian government in 1997, the company said.

Publication: Metal Bulletin
Provider: Metal Bulletin com
Date: July 26, 2007