The future of the Horne foundry took an uncertain turn this week, plunging the population of Rouyn-Noranda back into this cruel dilemma between public health and the region’s economic growth. After a long and laborious debate on these questions, there should no longer be any doubt about the expected behaviors of the company. The health of the population established at the foot of its chimneys can no longer be compromised.
Citing internal notes from the Ministry of the Economy, Radio-Canada revealed that Glencore, the Anglo-Swiss multinational which owns the Horne smelter, is questioning its commitment to invest massively to reduce arsenic emissions. “The Horne foundry appears to be at a crossroads and its future will likely be decided over the next four weeks,” explains the document from the Ministry of the Economy of the Government of Quebec.
The cost of the project to reduce arsenic emissions increased from $500 million to $750 million, an increase of 50%. The multinational also says it is concerned about the predictability and stability of the business environment in Quebec. In plain French, she wonders if it is worth investing in upgrading the factory knowing that environmental standards are set to be tightened a notch in the near future.
Public Health and the Ministry of the Environment have set the target for arsenic emissions from the Horne smelter at 15 nanograms per cubic meter of air (ng/m³) by 2027. This is well above of the Quebec standard of 3 ng/m³ to which the foundry will eventually have to comply. As an indication, it emitted on average emissions of 47 ng/m³ last year. This context helps us understand that the bar is high for a company that operates in an international framework. In the mining sector, there is always a country that will be ready to tolerate the excesses of exploitation, at the risk of the health of ecosystems and populations, in exchange for economic benefits.
It is difficult to see whether Glencore’s reluctance is a serious threat or a bluff to advance its interests. Regardless, the Minister of the Environment, Benoit Charette, recalled that Glencore had obligations to respect if it wants to continue operating its smelter. “It’s not a question of investment, it’s a question of results,” he said. Quebec does not seem willing to play on the standards to the advantage of the foundry beyond 2028.
Local leaders also expressed their exasperation. The mayor of Rouyn-Noranda, Diane Dallaire, considers the questioning of the project completely “unacceptable”, especially since the agreement also provided for the relocation of 200 families outside the immediate perimeter of the foundry, at a cost of $58 million assumed by Quebec. The former member of Parliament for Rouyn-Noranda–Témiscamingue and co-spokesperson for Québec Solidaire, Émilise Lessard-Therrien, urged the Legault government not to give in to threats.
The Horne foundry has a unique status. It is the only copper smelter in Canada, and the only one on the continent to use recycled material. In the Legault government’s vast electrification project, it plays a strategic role in the production of critical materials. It is also a major employer in Rouyn-Noranda, generating 600 direct jobs and 1,400 indirect jobs. The closure of the Horne smelter would also lead to the closure of the CCR refinery in Montreal East, generating 550 jobs.
No one in the region wants the smelter to close. Mme Lessard-Therrien summed up the general feeling by emphasizing that the multinational has the necessary financial margin and the support of governments to make the transformation. Tax credits for the modernization of the foundry total 275 million of the 750 million bill. The least that can be done is for the multinational to respect environmental standards and demonstrate social responsibility in the operation of its foundry.
The citizens of Rouyn-Noranda have paid enough for the costs of mining with their health and their lives. According to Public Health data, life expectancy is lower than the Quebec average, low-weight babies are born in a higher proportion and lung diseases and lung cancers are observed in higher prevalence there than in the rest of Quebec. The presence in the air of metals such as nickel and arsenic are still to blame.
The energy transition and mining can no longer be at the expense of human life. At the end of a long process marked by accommodations, patient negotiation of targets and the payment of tax incentives, if Glencore cannot adhere to Quebec’s environmental framework, we might as well face the facts: it is not will never achieve it.