Permits in Hand, Asarco's El Paso Copper Smelter Moves Closer to Restart

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--After sitting idle for more than nine years, Asarco Incorporated (Tucson, Arizona), a wholly owned subsidiary of Grupo Mexico S.A. de C.V., cleared its biggest hurdle in the planned restart of its 120,000-ton-per-year copper anodes and 347,000-ton-per-year sulfuric acid plant after receiving the needed permits from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

In mid-February 2008, a hearing was held to determine whether Texas had a legal right to deny the permit to Asarco. It was finally concluded that the state had to issue the permit, though it also delivered a chain of suggestions that are meant to maintain a stringent form of monitoring the plant's emissions. These proposals call for four new lead monitors and for Asarco to show a willingness to work with the city of El Paso, the state of New Mexico and the country of Mexico to set up additional monitoring methods as they are deemed necessary. Another small victory for the opposition to the restart was that the commissioners cut the term of the permit from its normal 10-year duration to five years. They also set a number of other conditions and deadlines that must be met by Asarco. And still the battle isn't over; the city of El Paso vowed to appeal the ruling in district court.

Last October, New Mexico issued a statement in the form of a letter to Texas Gov. Rick Perry that it was opposed to the renewal of the air permit. The smelter is located less than a mile from New Mexico's border. Among the reasons cited are harm to the environment and public health issues. They have shown that they are already dealing with soil contaminated from lead, due in part to the El Paso plant; they also demonstrated that they have elevated levels of ozone and particulate matter that is already a concern for citizens.

Not everyone is against the reopening. Union members and supporters cheered the decision. Some of the Asarco supporters attended the hearing dressed in bright blue hats and T-shirts inscribed with "Let's Get to Work." Asarco assured the commission that the copper smelting operation would be modern and well controlled. The company said that it would operate under strict controls that had already been suggested by the environmental agency's executive director in a report from May 2007 and that the city did not have to choose between jobs and the environment - that it can have both.

The price of copper is over $3.50 a pound. It's easy to see why supporters are enthusiastic about reopening the plant. The 300 or so jobs that the reopening would produce are expected to be $20-an-hour jobs, along with benefits. Start-up costs for the idled plant are estimated to be $50 million.

Asarco has a number of deadlines to meet, upgrades to make, soil remediation to continue and equipment testing to sort out. And, lest we forget, Asarco is still dealing with bankruptcy. The Chapter 11 reorganization was considered helpful to the company because the reorganization plan is structured to help make it stronger and more viable. Asarco said in late January 2008 that it would not consider restarting the smelter before the resolution of the bankruptcy case. The hope is that the company will emerge from bankruptcy sometime this year.

The 828-foot smokestack adorned with the name Asarco looms in El Paso's skyline and remains a towering icon of Texas' first smelter that was built in 1887. With so many contingencies and deadlines and considerations yet to be met, the current plans call for the restart to begin in spring 2009.

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