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Glencore Canada is immediately suspending its $300-million investment tied to reducing emissions at the Horne Smelter in Rouyn-Noranda, Que., after the province failed to reach an agreement with the Swiss multinational company.
The company was set to invest nearly $1 billion to meet the province’s demands to reduce arsenic emission at the Rouyn-Noranda Horne Smelter and upgrade its facilities.
The modernization projects are needed to meet Quebec government targets: an annual average of 15 nanograms of arsenic per cubic metre (ng/m³) in ambient air, measured at the sampling station closest to the smelter.
In a news release issued Tuesday, the company said it was “irresponsible” to authorize investments “without assurance regarding the ability of the smelter to continue its activities under predictable and realistic conditions in the long term.”
Investments at the CCR Refinery in Montreal will also be scaled back in the medium term.
As of March 2027, the Horne Smelter, located about 600 kilometres northwest of Montreal, will be unable to comply with the terms of its permit, to the point that the plant will be under threat of closure.
The company, therefore, says it has repeatedly issued two conditions to the Quebec government — adjust the existing reduced emissions plan according to a realistic timeline and introduce stable regulatory conditions moving forward, including maintaining the target of 15 nanograms of arsenic per cubic metre (ng/m³) for the duration of its next permit.
In operation since 1927, the smelter averaged 45 nanograms per cubic metre of arsenic between March 16, 2023, and March 15, 2024, down nearly 40 per cent from the year prior.
Glencore said since the summer of 2025, the company has taken several steps with the Quebec government to ensure the sustainability of its operations.
But it says despite all the efforts, the necessary conditions were not met.
“It is unreasonable, in our eyes, to be potentially on the path toward closure, when we are convinced that the operations at the Horne Smelter are safe for the population,” said Marc Bédard, chief of operations of custom metallurgical assets at Glencore, in the news release.
“The protection of jobs and the continuity of our operations are at the heart of our company’s priorities.”
The smelter has faced controversy in recent years over emissions, with the Quebec Superior Court authorizing a class-action lawsuit brought by two Rouyn-Noranda residents against Glencore and the provincial government.
Plaintiffs accuse the Horne Smelter of violating Quebec’s environmental standards and causing neighbourhood disturbances. They also blame the provincial government for failing to adequately oversee the company’s activities.
