Doe Run, a major producer of lead in the United States operating multiple sites, mines and refining operations, has announced that it will be shutting down its Herculaneum, Mo., location to be repurposed for future use. As a result, the production of 99.99 percent pure virgin lead will no longer be supplied by Doe Run.
The history of Doe Run
Doe Run, located in what is known as the lead belt about 30 miles south of St. Louis on the western bank of the Mississippi River, has been a producer of lead materials dating back to the 1800s.
Doe Run is the world’s largest lead mining company and has extensive history in the Missouri area. Its site in Herculaneum began operations in 1892. The site was primarily a refining location for its pure lead materials; also known as 99.99 percent virgin pure lead.
Alloys of recycled lead will still be available
Doe Run will continue all other operations as it works through the closure of the Herculaneum site. The only product that will no be available from Doe Run is the aforementioned 99.99 percent virgin pure lead. All other alloys of recycled lead, which is the majority of the market demand, will still be available.
Lead is recycled through a variety of applications; but the largest is the lead acid battery. The lead acid battery is the single largest consumer recycled product on the planet at a rate of 98 percent. Doe Run recycles over 460 million pounds of batteries per year. Other sources of lead for recycling are ammunition for shooting ranges, ballast from boats, submarines and bridges, as well as medical or industrial X-ray applications.
The impact of the Doe Run closure
There have been concerns in the market about the supply of material and what this closure means to the supply of metal. The truth is that most users will not see any impact; only those with applications that were using pure virgin lead.
However, pure virgin lead is more expensive than recycled lead and is typically only used in some medical, nuclear or research applications. This pure virgin lead is still available form other sources to satisfy these requirements but the majority of the market demand is not for 99.99 percent pure lead.
For most of the industry, the closure will have no effect. For more information please visit the Doe Run website.