Horne Smelter: 2025 results continue to track well below environmental targets

ROUYN-NORANDA, QC, April 28, 2026 /CNW/ - As it does every year, the Horne Smelter is today releasing its 2025 annual average concentrations of metals in ambient air, as measured at the monitoring stations surrounding its facilities.

The smelter views these results as an encouraging sign: concentrations of all monitored metals, including arsenic, remain below the targets set by its ministerial authorization. At the Horne legal station, the average arsenic concentration stands at 40.9 ng/m³, once again below the 45 ng/m³ ceiling, and 44% lower than the level recorded in 2022.

Technical sheet - Horne Smelter (CNW Group/Glencore Canada Corporation)

The long-term trajectory is equally clear: since 2005, the annual average arsenic concentration in ambient air measured at the legal station has fallen by more than 70%.

Highlights

• Data collected from March 16, 2025 to March 15, 2026, as required by the Ministry of the Environment, confirm that ambient air concentrations for all parameters analyzed at the legal sampling station, including arsenic, cadmium, lead, nickel, beryllium, antimony, thallium and vanadium, remain below the targets set by the ministerial authorization.
• Analysis of the data confirms that concentrations decrease rapidly with distance from the smelter. At the Glencore Arena, located approximately 440 metres from the site boundary, the annual average concentration is more than 75% below that recorded at the Horne legal station.
• Once again this year, nearly all (96%) of the urban area of Rouyn-Noranda recorded an ambient air arsenic concentration at or below 15 ng/m³.
• It is normal and expected that results may vary slightly from year to year, due to several factors including weather conditions such as wind patterns.
• In 2025, despite challenging weather conditions, the Horne Smelter kept concentrations below its authorized targets, demonstrating the effectiveness of its emissions reduction systems.

"I am proud of what our teams have achieved and of their continued commitment. We are confident that the Horne Smelter's operations are safe for the surrounding community. They were safe 20 years ago, when arsenic concentrations were significantly higher, and they remain safe today. We are fully committed to maintaining this trajectory of improvement," said Vincent Plante, Executive General Manager, North American Copper Value Stream, Glencore.

"At an equivalent distance from the reactor, the Horne Smelter already delivers environmental results comparable to, and in some cases better than, those of Aurubis Hamburg, recipient of the German Sustainability Award. We are proud of our strong compliance record. Last year's results show that we are holding onto the gains our teams have worked hard to achieve through the rigorous daily management of our operations," added Marie-Elise Viger, Director of Environment, North American Copper Operations, Glencore.

Any further reduction in concentrations will require new investments and operational improvements, which underscores the importance of a stable and predictable regulatory framework going forward.

To learn more, www.glencore.ca

SOURCE Glencore Canada Corporation

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