Doe Run’s Sustainability Report Shares Update on Its Operations and Commitments in 2015
8 Sep 2016
ST. LOUIS (Sept. 8, 2016) – The Doe Run Company (Doe Run) released its 2015 Sustainability Report, available at sustainability.doerun.com. The report provides updates on Doe Run’s operations and how the company is navigating challenging metal market conditions, in order to meet its commitments, such as employee safety, customer needs and environmental performance.
“The past two years (2014 and 2015) have been challenging for the metals markets with lower than expected prices” said Jerry Pyatt, Doe Run president and CEO. “Despite this, we have been able to manage through the market pricing, complete a number of large environmental projects and begin recovery of a new ore body in our mining district. Our report shares information on our social, economic and environmental performance for the past year.”
As a privately held company, Doe Run chooses to disclose the report as one way to keep local communities and community leaders informed of the company’s past performance and future outlook. A major employer in southeast Missouri, Doe Run owns six mines and four mills that produce lead, copper and zinc concentrates, and also operates a recycling facility that can recycle approximately 13.5 million vehicle batteries per year. At the end of 2015, the company employed more than 1,200 people at its Missouri operations and spent $153 million with 632 Missouri vendors. In total, studies have shown the company provides approximately $1 billion in economic impact to Missouri.
In 2015, the company capitalized on the discovery of a new ore body at Brushy Creek Mine, which helped grow Doe Run’s underground mining footprint in Missouri. Company geologists analyzing old exploration data in 2014 uncovered clues about an untapped ore body below existing mine workings at the Brushy Creek Mine. Further investigation revealed a deposit of high-quality lead, zinc and copper ore. From June 2014 through December 2015, Doe Run mined nearly 100,000 tons of ore from this new zone, which will help to extend the life of the mine.
Environmental projects continued to be a focus of the company in 2015 as reported by Mark Yingling, vice president – environmental, health and safety at Doe Run. “In 2015, we invested $63 million on environmental and remediation projects, including the construction of a $13.2 million water treatment plant at Buick Mine and Mill. This is the second of five new water treatment plants to be built between 2014 and 2017 at our sites, and is a part of the $357 million in total environmental expenditures the company has spent in the years 2010 through 2015, including remediation at former mine sites.”
“There’s no doubt that we have faced challenges the past year that required us to make tough decisions on staffing and capital investment,” said Pyatt. “However, we are beginning to see a slight improvement in the metals market. A stronger market will allow us to expand exploration and mine development and extend the life of our mines.”
Doe Run’s sustainability website also invites readers to share their views on the report and what they are most interested in through an online survey available at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3LYZT8J.
Doe Run’s seventh sustainability report contains Standard Disclosures from the world’s most widely used sustainability reporting framework – the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). As part of the GRI framework, the company reports its progress against a number of key indicators related to environmental stewardship, economic performance, labor practices and community engagement. A full list of the GRI indicators that Doe Run reports is available on the sustainability website at here.
About The Doe Run Company
Based in St. Louis, The Doe Run Company is a privately held natural resources company and a global provider of lead, copper and zinc concentrates. Dedicated to environmentally responsible mineral and metal production, Doe Run operates one of the world’s largest, single-site lead recycling centers, located in Boss, Mo. The Doe Run Company and its subsidiaries deliver products and services necessary to provide power, protection and convenience. Doe Run has operations in Missouri, Washington and Arizona. For more information, visit www.doerun.com and sustainability.doerun.com.
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