Commission backs 20-month extension of Doe Run Peru clean up

A joint commission will recommend that Peru’s government extend a deadline for...

A joint commission will recommend that Peru’s government extend a deadline for the environmental cleanup of the closed Doe Run Peru smelter by 20 months, a member of the body said on Monday.Royberto Guzman, a union leader, said members of the committee -- which includes representatives from Doe Run Peru and the government -- think that giving the company more time to finish a controversial cleanup would help restart operations and guarantee jobs for workers.The committee only has an advisory role and a final decision on what the company calls the world’s most diversified smelter will be made by President Alan Garcia.Doe Run Peru, owned by privately held U.S. company Renco Group, stopped production at its La Oroya smelter in June when it ran out of money several months after banks cut off credit.The government has balked at giving the smelter more time for a pending environmental cleanup, which could free up loans.Estimates show more than 3,000 direct jobs and 16,000 indirect jobs are at stake at the smelter and in the town, La Oroya, which is one of the most polluted in the world.The company has an October deadline to implement environmental controls and is fighting with the government to get the deadline extended, saying it does not have the money to fulfill its environmental contract at this time.