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The Brunswick Smelter is located in Belledune, Gloucester County, New Brunswick. 

The smelter closed in 2019, and the adjacent Material Handling West site ceased operations in 2022. 

Our history

The Brunswick Smelter has a long history. 

It opened in 1966 to process local concentrate from the Brunswick Mine, located 35 kilometres south of Bathurst. The smelter produced metallic lead and zinc. 

The facility also housed a plant that produced phosphate fertilizers using by-products from the smelting process. The fertilizer plant closed in 1995. 

When Brunswick Mine shut down in March 2013, the smelter lost its primary mill feed. Imported raw materials were used until 2019, when the facility's closure was announced.  

Glencore continued operating the Material Handling West site after the smelter closed. The site, which handled bulk products such as lead and zinc concentrates, metallurgical coke, and sulphuric acid, ceased operations in November 2022. 

Site rehabilitation

The Brunswick Smelter site is being decommissioned and rehabilitated in accordance with local legislation and relevant international standards. 

Operations are monitored on a day-to-day basis by the local closure team, supported by the multidisciplinary team responsible for Glencore Canada's closed sites.

Rehabilitation of the Brunswick Smelter site comprises the following main phases: 

  • 2020-2022

    Site preparation and government approvals

  • 2022-2025

    Residue disposal 

  • 2023-2024

    Hazardous waste removal

  • 2023-2025

    Smelter demolition and debris removal

  • 2025-2028

    Smelter site rehabilitation

The water treatment plant, in operation since 1980, will be decommissioned after 2028 once surface water is clean enough to be discharged directly into Chaleur Bay.   

The Material Handlig West site will also be decommissioned through another government approval process. 

Rehabilitation of the Material Handling West site comprises the following main phases:

  • 2023-2024

    Site preparation and government approvals

  • 2023-2026

    Residue disposal

  • 2025-2026

    Hazardous waste removal
    Demolition and debris removal

  • 2027-2028

    MHW site rehabilitation

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