AT CHAMBER FIRST FRIDAY COFFEE: MINING EXEC DISCUSSES MISSOURI MINING FUTURE

There's a lot of misconceptions about the use of lead, says John FitzSimmons.

"We get some surprising answers on surveys concerning lead use," said FitzSimmons, vice president and general manager of the Doe Run Mining Co. "Some people think lead produced from our mines is being used in paint. Others thought it was being used in gasoline."

FitzSimmons was in Cape Girardeau Friday to address the Chamber of Commerce's First Friday Coffee crowd, discussing mining in Missouri and specifically, the Doe Run area.

"Lead is a vital component in everyday living," he added. "Missouri produces about 90 percent of the lead mined in the U.S. and about 80 percent of our lead is used in batteries. Other uses include leaded glass and circuitry for computers and television sets, backup power supples, high-tech weaponry, such as that used in Desert Storm, and as a protective shield in x-rays."

The mining executive expressed concerns, however, about the future of mining in Missouri.

"Regulatory delays, caused in part by distorted views of mining's impact on the environment, is threatening the Missouri lead mining industry," said FitzSimmons. "We need more exploration, and if we don't get it, we can see the end of lead mining within 10 to 20 years."

FitzSimmons says mining and environmental responsibility can co-exist and save the jobs and taxes associated with mining, one of the state's oldest industries.

"Lead mining in Missouri cannot survive, however, if federal officials continue to allow environmental activists to delay the exploration process for new mines," he said. "We've been delayed over 10 years in efforts to explore for new ore reserves that could be developed into new mines."

The Doe Run operations currently include six mines, four mills and two smelters.

"We want to lease about 3,700 acres of land in the Mark Twain National Forest," he said. "That's a relatively small area of the 1.5 million total acres of the forest in South-Central Missouri."

He explained that the Viburnum Trend, an area rich in mineral deposits where Doe Run and its predecessor companies have operated lead mines for decades, was supplying 90 percent of the lead produced in the U.S.

"The area we want to explore is immediately south of the existing lead producing region," he said. "If exploratory drilling indicates sufficient new deposits, the company would hope to be producing lead there by the year 2005.

"If we could open additions mines, we could create more jobs," he said. "But, we have to clear one regulatory obstacle after another. At some point, I think we're entitle to a decision on our explorations requests in the Mark Twain Forest in Missouri."

The Doe Run company's employment figures have topped the 1,000 mark at times, said FitzSimmons. "Presently we're employing about 900 people, with a $58 million payroll. Our average per employee, including salary and benefits, is about $50,000 each."

The company pays more than $6 million in taxes.

Doe Run has been mining near Viburnum more than 30 years, with "minimal impact on the environment," said FitzSimmons. "Lead mines are under ground, and has little surface impact.

"The streams and underground water near our mines are as clean today as they ever were," he added. "And, the air is just as clean as it ever was. When we closing a mining operation, we re-vegetate. We plant new trees and grass, and in a few years, you can't tell we've ever been there."

FitzSimmons also cited the company's safety record to the group.

"We have received the Sentinels of Safety award eight times during past 17 years," he said. "This is the nation's most prestigious mine safety award in the underground metal category."

The latest award for the Doe Run firm, for 1991, was for completing 110,704 hours without an injury that caused any employee to lose a day's work.