Living in Peru : your everyday companion

(Official press release)

Doe Run Peru has begun the equipment purchasing process for a sulfuric acid plant designed to address health issues at its La Oroya metallurgical facility. The facility is scheduled to be completed in September of 2008, a Doe Run Peru official said.

Jose Mogrovejo, the company's vice president for environmental affairs, made the announcement to more than 300 residents of La Oroya and surrounding communities at the Third Annual Conference of Authorities and Communities of La Oroya. The plant is part of Doe Run Peru's environmental operating agreement (known by its Spanish acronym, PAMA) with the Peruvian government.

"The sulfuric acid plant for the lead circuit is part of the last of our PAMA projects and also includes the construction of plants for the copper circuit, which is expected to be running in October 2009, and the zinc circuit, which has been running since December of last year," Mogrovejo said. "We have estimated a total investment of more than $100 million in these projects."

During a question-and-answer session that followed Mogrovejo's comments Jonás Justo Tolentín, president of the neighboring community of Santa Rosa de Chacco, asked the company to continue its community support and environmental progress to "demonstrate to the people who do not live in La Oroya that there is life here."

Meanwhile, a representative of the community of Huari asked officials with the regional government to find solutions to issues of environmental emissions in La Oroya.

The event, organized by Doe Run Peru on May 17, brought together senior Doe Run Peru officials with some 300 people including local and regional authorities; presidents and representatives of the peasant communities of Paccha, Santa Rosa de Sacco, Huari and Chacapalca.

The annual event is organized by Doe Run Peru to promote direct and transparent dialogue with principal representatives and authorities of communities surrounding its operations.

César Gutiérrez, mayor of the district of Yauli-La Oroya, said at the meeting that Doe Run Peru participates regularly in these kinds of meetings and that "we are focused on encouraging them to continue to produce change in La Oroya."

Once the PAMA projects are complete, which is expected in 2009, the company's total investment on environmental issues is expected to reach $254 million, nearly 2.4 times the investment initially required under the agreement.

Doe Run Peru reported in April that an aggressive modernization campaign and other environmental projects had brought emissions of particulate matter and heavy metals, including lead, from the metallurgical facility's main stack within Peruvian governmental limits.

About Doe Run Peru

Doe Run Peru is a mining and metals company operating in Peru's central Andes. The company has run the La Oroya metallurgical complex since 1997 and the Cobriza mine in Huancavelica since 1998, producing high quality refined metals while at the same time working to operate in a socially and environmentally responsible way.

For more information please visit Doe Run Peru's website (link)

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