Lead smelter in Herculaneum, Missouri set to close in 2013!

[reloaderguy 30]

This may not be good news for bullet prices in the future! Article is from 2010 but plant is set to close Dec 2013.

 

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/lead-smelter-in-herculaneum-set-to-close-in/article_54400025-2940-5b3f-b753-6e931e596cac.html

[Vlad G 345]

This may not be good news for bullet prices in the future! Article is from 2010 but plant is set to close Dec 2013.

 

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/lead-smelter-in-herculaneum-set-to-close-in/article_54400025-2940-5b3f-b753-6e931e596cac.html

 

To be fair lead processing is a very filthy business, and the recycling of lead is quite efficient and cleaner.  Maybe we'll take a hit in our pocket but it beats a hit to your lungs. The town I live in still has to deal with the fallout of a lead plant that has been closed for decades. 

[DirtyDigz 1,812]

Still on schedule:

 

http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/doe-run-workers-to-be-cut-at-end-of-december/article_56182c9f-0413-59a5-865e-e864715f3c2d.html

 

Seems to me a great opportunity for some other company to enter the business - they'll have an effective monopoly on lead production/recycling in the US.

[tony357 386]

Still on schedule:

 

http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/doe-run-workers-to-be-cut-at-end-of-december/article_56182c9f-0413-59a5-865e-e864715f3c2d.html

 

Seems to me a great opportunity for some other company to enter the business - they'll have an effective monopoly on lead production/recycling in the US.

East Penn is a large battery recycling plant in PA..

 

 http://www.dekabatteries.com/default.aspx?pageid=338

[Vlad G 345]

We produce a hell of a lot of lead, from recycling which is a LOT cleaner. Basically we mine the dirty stuff, ship it to china and Korea to due the dirty work, get it here clean and then we recycle it.

 

It isn't that bad of a deal if you think about it.

[DirtyDigz 1,812]

We produce a hell of a lot of lead, from recycling which is a LOT cleaner. Basically we mine the dirty stuff, ship it to china and Korea to due the dirty work, get it here clean and then we recycle it.

 

It isn't that bad of a deal if you think about it.

 

Sure would suck for ammo pricing if they decide they don't want to send it to us any more.

[Cemeterys Gun Blob 165]

We produce a hell of a lot of lead, from recycling which is a LOT cleaner. Basically we mine the dirty stuff, ship it to china and Korea to due the dirty work, get it here clean and then we recycle it.

 

It isn't that bad of a deal if you think about it.

 

Can we quote you on saying it isn't that bad of a deal once shipping charges hit the per box cost of ammo?

[Vlad G 345]

Well tell you what. Why don't you put in a offer on the houses of people living .. oh .. says 30miles around a primary lead smelter plant?

 

I hate to break it to you guys, but sooner or later lead ammo will be gone and we'll need to find an alternative. Maybe in the meanwhile you are all willing to pay higher memberships at clubs so we can afford to mine the berms and recycle the lead?

 

The other thing to consider is what is lead used for? Ammo accounts for less the 5%, the lions share (around 89%) is car batteries. Well, if you want cheaper ammo buy more imported car batteries, that way you are not competing with the US recycled market and you bring more lead into the US to be recycled. 

[Cemeterys Gun Blob 165]

Alternative?

 

Steel? Copper? Then you have to consider what the ATF considers armor peircing......

[Vlad G 345]

Oh I'm aware of the problem, I'm not saying it is a easy solution. It is made doubly hard by the fact that other metals heavy enough to compete are going to be even more poisonous or quite rare. Mercury, Gold, Thallium, Polonium, and Bismuth are the closest and  .. well .. yeah thats not gonna work. 

 

We might very well end up shooting lighter bullets faster a heck of a lot more in the long term. I mean copper is ok by the ATF but it is also expensive. I wouldn't be shocked if we have to start thinking of Tin, Zinc, soft Iron alloys clad in copper in light for caliber loadings. 

 

I'm not saying I'm looking forward to that, I'm saying it may come to be regardless of what we wish for. 

[BillC. 26]

just melt down a couple chinese toys and cast your own

[Ivana Revolver 0]

I'm a new shooter so forgive me if I ask a dumb question or two....

 

They do make non-lead ammo, right? How does non-lead ammo affect accuracy? Is it cheaper or more expensive? I'm specifically interested in .22LR.

 

Thanks.

[Malice4you 627]

My understanding is anything else besides lead is either much more expensive or harder to work with (and therefore more expensive anyway.)  I'd guess 98% of ammo out there contains lead.  A lot of it also has copper, either a very thin layer like most .22s, or a slightly thicker, clad jacket of copper over a core of lead (and sometimes other metals, often [hardened?] steel).  The ammo with steel cores must be perfectly centered, or the ammo will certainly be inaccurate (think taping a weight to one side of a football).  Keep in mind that most materials proposed to replace lead are also lighter, so lighter bullets should have the same effects they do with different weight lead bullets (50/55/62/75gr .223, etc).

 

There was a thread on here a few months ago about the military buying "green" ammo, and copper was one of the metals the projectiles were potentially going to be made out of.

 

I'd guess if a .22LR were to use a 100% copper bullet, the cost would probably double to triple per shot.

[DeerSlayer 241]

I'm in the plumbing trades and you bet your ass we don't want to pay for 100% copper ammo. As of this year any plumbing materials for Potable water cannot contain any trace amounts of lead. The law used to be .002% of lead allowed. As of the new year its 0.000000% the prices on faucets,valves, and fittings have just gone through the roof if they already weren't expensive enough. Doesn't matter too much to me I'm not paying the higher prices, my customers will be.. The word plumber is Latin meaning "one who works in lead" so now that we don't use lead anymore we need a new name. Anyone know the translation in Latin for PVC?

 

 

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