Over the past few weeks, a significant number of voices have expressed concern about the Horne Foundry. I would like to remind our employees, the residents of the Notre-Dame district and the city of Rouyn-Noranda, as well as all Quebecers, that we are listening and that we take these concerns very seriously.
Posted at 9:00 a.m.
Our priority is the health and safety of our teams, and of the communities surrounding our facilities.
With this letter, I wish to reaffirm our deep commitment to continue our efforts to reduce our emissions, to recall the path we have already traveled and to outline the next steps.
- We have been reducing our emissions for over 20 years. Moreover, the presence of arsenic in ambient air has decreased by more than 90% since 2000.
- The smelter continues to operate in accordance with the permits granted to it by the Ministry of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change, following an exhaustive biomonitoring study carried out in 2005-2006 by Health public. In addition, an important consultation process with the latter took place from 2003 to 2017.
Our commitment to the continuous reduction of emissions is also reflected in an investment of $500 million, recently submitted to the Government of Quebec, to deploy innovative projects.
We are also continuing our discussions proactively with them, as well as with public health authorities and our community.
This plan complements other emission reduction projects implemented over the past few years. These include, among others:
- The finalization of a transition zone between the foundry and the Notre-Dame district to reduce the exposure of citizens.
- Deployment of state-of-the-art copper processing techniques, allowing us to optimize gas and dust collection.
- Continuous improvement of existing dust collectors and emission treatment in all of our areas of operation.
The Horne Foundry is proud to be part of the Quebec and Canadian mining industry for nearly 100 years. This investment will help ensure the sustainability of our facilities so that they continue to support the province’s climate ambitions through its role as the leading recycler of electronic waste materials in North America.
Having personally lived and worked in the region for 13 years, I am committed to ensuring the future success of the Horne, continuing our efforts to reduce emissions to achieve a performance worthy of the trust and pride of all actors concerned.