Umicore ready to move on with remediation work at Saint Felix sites

Umicore takes note of the decision in April of the Conseil d'Etat related to the Saint Felix de Pallières sites. While procedures were ongoing, Umicore has been working on feasibility studies and reached out to the relevant administrative bodies to align on the technical aspects of the remediation works. Following these preparations, we expect to start work in the second half of the year. 

Umicore has always been transparent about historical pollution, related to the activities of its predecessor companies, accepting its responsibilities, and adapting to ever-stricter environmental standards. The remediation of historical pollution is complex and takes time.

The mining concession in Saint-Félix-de-Pallières dates to 1913. One of Umicore’s predecessor companies, the Société des Mines et Fonderies de Zinc de la Vieille-Montagne obtained the mining concession from the French state to extract zinc. In 1971 Union Minière decided to halt mining activities in the area and to close the mines. 

In full compliance with the state’s mining legislation and under the supervision of the French State, Union Minière and in the 1990’s Umicore, carried out works to remediate the site. This included the demolition and the safe closures of mining-related facilities, and the protection of a tailings dam, which is the only site that Umicore still owns in the area. Since all mining and related activities in the area were terminated in accordance with the applicable environmental standards, the Code Minier, and under the supervision of the French State, the State took back the mining concession in 2005. 

Despite the above, Umicore in 2018 received injunctions from the Prefecture, demanding Umicore submit a remediation plan to manage the mining residues on several sites in the area. 

Umicore submitted the requested plans to manage the mining residues for most of the sites, while at the same time challenging the legal basis of the injunctions. The Prefecture considered that the management of mining residues which fall under the Mining Code should in fact be treated as waste under the Environmental Code. 

When the judges annulled the injunctions in December 2020, the review of these plans came to a halt. Because of the continued legal uncertainty and the fact that Umicore is not the owner of most of the sites covered by the injunctions, it was difficult for Umicore to carry out any works on the ground.  The only site on which Umicore was able to complete remediation works in 2022 is the tailings dam (la "Digue”), because it is still the owner of this land.

In March 2023 the Court of Appeal, however, annulled the decision of the judge of first instance and considered that the Prefecture’s injunctions were in fact valid. Even if Umicore appealed this decision and the legal basis of the injunctions with the Conseil d’Etat, it in parallel resumed discussions with the administration to finalize the remediation plans.

In April 2024, the Conseil d’Etat took a final decision on the matter. This decision does not change anything to the progression of the file. While consultation with the relevant services need to take place to validate the solution Umicore proposes for the “les Haldes du GFA” site, and it was agreed that Mine Joseph requires more studies, the authorities validated the remediation solution for the l’Issart site, where works will begin there after the summer. 

French version - Version française