Glencore closes New Brunswick smelter facility

Glencore Canada Corp., headquartered in Toronto, plans to permanently close its lead smelter in Belledune, New Brunswick. The decommissioning process has already started, and the smelter will cease all operations by the end of the year, Glencore reports in a news release on the facility closure.

“The decision to cease lead smelting operations at our Brunswick smelter was a very difficult one. Despite years of efforts by committed employees and a strong management team, the smelter has been uneconomic since the closure of the Brunswick mine in 2013. We have thoroughly assessed all our options and come to the unavoidable conclusion that the smelter is simply not sustainable, regardless of the recent labor dispute,” says Chris Eskdale, Glencore head of zinc and lead assets. “I would like to express my gratitude to all Brunswick smelter employees, past and present, for their tremendous commitment and efforts over the many years of operations. We are fully committed to working closely with employees and unions as well as other community stakeholders to mitigate the impact as much as possible.”

According to Glencore, the New Brunswick smelter opened in 1966 and employs approximately 420 people. All affected employees will be treated with fairness and respect through the closure process, the company reports in a news release on the facility closure. Glencore reports that it plans to provide pension, severance and outplacement support services for all employees as part of closure settlements to be agreed on. The company also plans to meet with union leadership to discuss an orderly transition to closure.

Glencore says it plans to seek potential relocation opportunities at its mining and metallurgical operations in other provinces and countries, which may be available to Brunswick smelter workers. The company anticipates that a small number of employees will be retained to work on site monitoring, water treatment and closure projects in the months ahead.

Glencore is a diversified natural resource company and a producer and marketer of more than 60 commodities. The group’s operations comprise about 150 mining and metallurgical sites and oil production assets.