TORONTO – Canadian diversified miner Teck Resources said on Thursday that lead smelting at its Trail, British Columbia facility was suspended for a fourth day due to wildfires in the province.
Teck temporarily shut down lead smelting on Sunday because the flash smelting technology requires high-purity oxygen, which an on-site plant could not supply due to poor air quality. Zinc operations at the complex are currently unaffected, said spokesman Chris Stannell.
Vancouver-based Teck, which has not predicted when smelting will resume, said the situation is day-to-day.
In June, Teck forecast that Trail would produce 65 000 t of refined lead in 2018.
There are 563 wildfires burning in British Columbia, which declared a state of emergency on August 15.