EAST HELENA — Unless a new buyer can be found for the slag at the former ASARCO site in East Helena, the EPA may soon move into the final phase of remediation of the site.
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The 16-million-ton pile of slag that occupies almost half of the former ASARCO smelter property is a reminder of East Helena's past.
The pile holds valuable metals such as zinc, and there have been international agreements in the past to purchase the material.
Cindy Brooks, the managing principal for Montana Environmental Trust Group, says, "Getting the material from East Helena to a place where it can be recycled is a challenge because most of these places are overseas, and so it becomes just a transportation cost scenario.”
In late 2020, the Montana Environmental Trust Group entered into an agreement with international metals trader Metallica Commodities Corp and Korea Zinc.
They planned to crush and transport an estimated two million tons of unfumed slag over five years to the purchaser in South Korea, the largest zinc smelter in the world.
However, Korea Zinc terminated its contract last June due to supply chain and shipping issues.
“They just could not attain the pace needed to efficiently load that material on the ships," Brooks said.
Despite the agreement falling through, around 145,000 tons of slag have been transported to Korea since 2021.
It is vital to East Helena’s groundwater that the slag is removed.
"Essentially, the unfumed slag at the top of the pile is 75 percent of the remaining source of selenium, so it is an environmental action,” noted Brooks.
The EPA has approved the final remedial action at the former smelter, which entails grading the remaining slag pile and capping it with a vegetated soil cover.
If done, this would end the commercial selling of slag.
Montana Environmental Trust Group is currently looking for international purchasers of the slag to then recommend to the EPA for approval.
"The potential continents that would receive the material based on discussions thus far would be Asia, Europe, and there is a potential scenario for a facility in Mexico,” said Brooks.
