HERCULANEUM, Mo. (March 6, 2015) – Expansion began this month at the Riverview Commerce Park LLC (RCP) port in Herculaneum, Missouri. A new barge fleet staging area was installed on March 6 and will begin operations next week. The Jefferson County Port Authority received permits to construct the staging area, essentially a parking lot for barges, just south of the new Mississippi River shipping dock. RCP will lease and operate the barge fleet.

“This new staging area is much closer than the one we’ve used since opening the port in September 2013, which enables us to run the shipping operations more efficiently,” said Mark Denton, project manager for RCP.

The Herculaneum port currently ships locally sourced sand to oil and natural gas producers across the U.S. for two local customers, Mississippi Sand of Festus, Missouri, and ​Unimin Sand of Pevely, Missouri. The 18-acre site includes both a loading dock on the river and restored rail lines.

“The shipping operations surpassed our expectations during its first two years,” said Denton. “We were managing more than 100,000 tons by the end of 2013. Now with a second dock and staging area, we anticipate being able handle more than 1 million tons of material, and maintain a 12-person workforce at the site.”

Also anticipated to be completed this summer is remediation of the port area. In November 2014, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources approved a Voluntary Cleanup Program plan for areas of the former smelter site utilized by RCP. The plan includes adding an approximately three-foot deep layer of soil across portions of the property, which will prepare the area for further development to support the new port.

“After ending smelting operations, The Doe Run Company (Doe Run) quickly turned to identifying future uses for the site to ensure the land continues to be an economic driver for the Herculaneum community,” said Chris Neaville, Doe Run’s asset development director, and Herculaneum native. “RCP has successfully transitioned existing river and rail infrastructure into a growing shipping operation. We also continue to use the site to operate non-smelting operations to meet the needs of our metal customers.”

Doe Run operates its refinery and strip mill, and lead metal alloying and casting operations at Herculaneum. The company’s Resource Recycling facility in Boss, Missouri, also produces premium secondary lead metal from recycled lead.

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, Missouri. 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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