Peru to reevaluate environmental laws over La Oroya smelter

April 12, 2017 - Peru’s environment ministry has proposed modifying laws restricting sulfur dioxide emissions to attract buyers for a century-old poly-metallic smelter.  The Doe Run owned smelter and neighboring Cobriza copper mine priced together at $100 million have failed to find buyers at three auctions in a time of low commodity prices. Analysts say restrictive environmental regulations make the La Oroya assets unviable in an area cited as one of the most polluted in the world. The smelter requires upgrades costing over $700 million.  A new resolution proposes ten modifications including raising the sulfur dioxide limit from 20 to 250 micrograms per square foot, in line with regulations in Colombia, Chile and Mexico. The World Health Organization (WHO) guideline is 20 micrograms per cubic meter.  “The World Health Organization recommends the limit of 20 as a target value, as an ideal value, but it also establishes intermediate values. No country in the world has 20. This proposal is more in line with reality,” environment minister Marcos Alegre told Gestion.  Alegre added that the new standard will generate greater competitiveness in Peru’s economy and “also protects health.”  The La Oroya district in Peru’s highland Junin state, home to 1,600 La Oroya workers, will likely be abandoned if the smelter and mine operations fail. President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski has vowed to save the smelter while diversifying Peru’s mining sector from production to value-added services.  The request to ease environmental regulation comes from workers and potential investors suggesting that both are awaiting the regulation change while the government schedules more auctions before August. Current owner Doe Run went bankrupt after the 2008 global financial crisis.  The La Oroya district found infamy after TIME magazine ranked it on its list of “The World’s Most Polluted Places.” The health ministry revealed 99% of its children have over three times the safety level of lead in their blood. The toxic metal damages mental development and causes comas, convulsions and death.  According to a study by the WHO in Hong Kong where large-scale reductions in sulfur dioxide have been a success, decreasing child respiratory diseases and all-age mortalities.

Etihad Rail achieves key Stage One sulphur milestone

February 18, 2017 - Etihad Rail, the developer and operator of the UAE's multi-billion dollar fully integrated national railway network, has since commencing Stage One operations, transported 10 million tonnes of granulated sulphur for the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) as of February 10, from sources at Shah and Habshan to its point of export at Ruwais.  Since having received approval for commercial operations from the Federal Transport Authority’s (FTA) – Land and Maritime in December 2015, two trains move along the Stage One network daily under the current timetable, each carrying up to 11,000 tonnes of granulated sulphur.  To date, the monthly average tonnage of sulphur transported stands at 410,000 tonnes, with the seven million tonne mark having been surpassed at the end of August 2016.  “The Etihad Rail project is emblematic of our zest for sustainable development, fostering innovation, and unsurpassed commitment toward revolutionising the UAE’s socio-economic landscape,” remarked Faris Saif Al Mazrouei, the chief executive of Etihad Rail.  The 1,200-km-long Etihad Rail network is part of the government’s plans to invest in excellent transport infrastructure, with the aim being to further strengthen the UAE’s position as a leading logistics hub, facilitating connectivity between trading partners in the region and beyond, through integration with key ports of the Gulf and Arabian seas.  Stretching a distance of 264-km, Stage One links the sulphur sources of Shah and Habshan to the export point of Ruwais via the Mirfa depot.  Built to international standards, Stage One utilises seven state-of-the-art locomotives from US-based Electro-Motive Diesel, with wagons supplied by China’s CSR Corporation.  Etihad Rail is being developed in line with the core tenets of Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030 and UAE Vision 2021, which collectively call for economic diversification through strategic initiatives set to bolster UAE socio-economic growth.  "Stage One’s continued progress underpins our vision to create significant benefits to the UAE through a faster, safer and more reliable alternative transport system," remarked Al Mazrouei.  "Transporting high volumes of sulphur per year is only the beginning of our efforts to expand the UAE’s logistics capabilities when transferring goods and raw materials from their source points to their final destinations," he added.  At full capacity, Stage One of Etihad Rail is poised to transport more than seven million tonnes of granulated sulphur annually. TradeArabia News Service