Smelting plant

[Janes]

I heard that the president shut down the last smelting plant. Has anyone else heard that. I just wonder what that will do with getting bullets.

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[Modeler]

The last primary smelter shut down due to gradually tightening EPA regulations related to lead emissions. I seriously doubt that Obama even knows it happened.

 

[DieselScout]

I have read up on it and many of the bullet companies have already come out and said it will not effect them. Most lead for bullets comes from secondary smelting (recycling) and the smelter going off line is a primary source (going from ore to new lead).

Sierra's response:

We have had many customers contact us about the closing of the last primary lead smelting facility in the USA. This facility is operated by Doe Run and is located in Herculaneum, MO and is just about a 3 hour drive from our facility in Sedalia, MO.

The main question asked is "Will this shut down your supply of lead?" The answer to that is no. First, Sierra buys lead from several different vendors to maintain constant supply. Second, this facility only smelts primary lead or lead ore. This is lead ore that has just been brought out of the earth. Sierra uses no primary lead at all and never has, so we use nothing directly from this facility. The lead we buy from Doe Run comes from their recycling facility in Boss, MO that is about 90 miles away from the smelter that is closing.

The facility we buy from is still going strong and delivering to us as scheduled. The lead from this facility is from recycled lead, mostly coming from car batteries. This is a continuing "in and out" cycle for them and the smelter closing will not affect this facility.

Our supply should not be in jeopardy and we do not anticipate any changes in our supply chain at this time. Could the lack of primary lead create a little more demand for recycled lead? Sure, but how much is unknown. Could this increase in demand also create an increase in price? Sure, but again, by how much is unknown at this time.

There are many other primary lead smelters in the world and so the flow of primary lead will not be shut off. Where there is a need for primary lead, I am sure there will be a salesman more than happy to pick up the business.

In short, we do not see any reason for alarm. We expect our supply to continue and keep feeding our production lines which are still running 24 hours per day to return our inventory levels to where they should be.

There is also this, but I have no way to verify who the "industry insider" is, so take it or leave it.

Posting on SnipersHide.com, one industry insider says shooters should not be overly concerned about the Doe Run shut-down, because smelting is still being done in nearby Mexico:

"The lead industry has been transitioning out of the United States for over a decade now. 85% of the lead smelting industry capacity migrated over the Mexican border where there are [fewer environmental regulations]. The remainder of production capacity will be online and running by the third quarter of 2014. There has been no production disruption to speak of in obtaining lead or lead products. The auto battery industry among others has prepared for this eventuality for some time....

The last lead smelter closing in December did not have enough capacity to supply even 10% of the battery industry much less the ammunition industry. The lead being used in ammunition today hasn't been coming from the United States for years already. The closing of that plant will not have any appreciable effect on lead availability at all. There is a great deal of lead processed here being extruded, made into shot, converted to wire, etc., but the smelting operation is only one part of the production process."

 

[Janes]

Thanks for all of the good information.

 

[RicInOR]

These regulations are from the Bush administration. We can't blame this one on the current occupant.

 

[Certaindeaf]

These regulations are from the Bush administration. We can't blame this one on the current occupant.

Wanna bet? It's the market simple times. What's not the market is the/your Hussein.

 

[Mark W.]

Wanna bet? It's the market simple times. What's not the market is the/your Hussein.

HUH?

 

[DieselScout]

HUH?

Glad I am not the only one.

 

[Sgt Nambu]

HUH?

Gotta go with Mark on this one!

 

[PiratePast40]

I think we do ourselves a disservice when we run with a story without researching it first. This particular one is a good example of how we look foolish when we attribute a perceived threat to Obama. When the story is twisted, we sound like a shrill voice complaining ad-nauseam.

Nothing against the OP asking if the rumor was true. Likewise, kudos to those who passed along the straight scoop. We need to be careful that we don't sound like idiots.

 

[pokerace]

[when we attribute a perceived threat to Obama/QUOTE]


Every THING is Obamas fault..........

 

[pokerace]

 

[Gaucho Gringo]

I have said it before but if the US had the industrial capacity it does today at the start of WWII we would all be speaking German or Japanese today and not even discussing firearm related threads on the internet.

 

[RicInOR]

There were other threads on this topic -

" ‘In 2008, the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for lead was reduced from 1.5 µg/m3 (micrograms of lead per cubic meter of air) to 0.15 µg/m3.'"

In '08 he was still Senator Obama.
And you have to know that these kinds of changes take time to make - it wasn't just one day.


Lead smelter in Herculaneum set to close in 2013 : News

 

[RicInOR]

There were other threads on this topic -

" ‘In 2008, the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for lead was reduced from 1.5 µg/m3 (micrograms of lead per cubic meter of air) to 0.15 µg/m3.’"

In '08 he was still Senator Obama.
And you have to know that these kinds of changes take time to make - it wasn't just one day.


Lead smelter in Herculaneum set to close in 2013 : News

 

[Certaindeaf]

HUH?

Barack Hussein