Doe Run Awaiting Peruvian Government Bailout, La Oroya Operations Nearly Shut Down

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LIMA – Doe Run Peru has almost completely halted operations at its La Oroya multi-metal smelting complex amid the financial crisis and is counting on a Peruvian government bailout, local media reported Wednesday. Doe Run Peru, an affiliate of the Renco Group-owned Doe Run Company, issued a statement Wednesday confirming that the copper plant at its smelter has been shut down, a move that follows the closure of lead and zinc processing facilities there earlier in the month.

The company has operated the La Oroya Metallurgical Complex in the central region of Junin since 1997 and the small Cobriza copper mine in the neighboring Huancavelica Region since 1998.

Until the near-total shutdown, the shelter had transformed poly-metallic ores into metals such as lead, zinc, copper, silver and gold, as well as byproducts like sulfuric acid and indium.

Doe Run Peru has been criticized frequently for the high levels of lead contamination generated by its smelter, which has given La Oroya the dubious distinction of being the most polluted municipality in the Americas. “The problem we’re facing has its origins in the global financial crisis and the steep drop in metal prices,” which led banks to cut off credit lines, the company said in a statement.

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