Air quality

At Horne Smelter, we are committed to reducing our impact on the environment and the community. We strive to meet the applicable environmental standards and, every year, we take actions to help us achieve and exceed our objectives.

Our goals include optimizing our gas capture system, materials storage, and internal road maintenance to prevent wind from spreading the dust. To do this, we purchased a vacuum truck and apply dust suppressants as required. Concentrates are stored indoors as much as possible, which is why we have installed several domes at the site, in addition to constructing a concentrate storage building.

2020 was a pivotal year for our environmental performance.

After implementing the last project for our second remediation certificate, we found a significant improvement in our air emissions, particularly arsenic.

Improvements in the anode furnace sector, optimization of the casting wheel hood, and the addition of a new duct to the dust collection system led to significantly lower arsenic emissions recorded at the statutory station during the year.

While these results are encouraging, we recognize that more work needs to be done, and that is why we continue to work with government authorities and all stakeholders to implement innovative, effective solutions to reduce our air emissions.