coming lead shortage

[Rifleman1776]

In the news, the last lead smelting plant in America is closing soon. http://www.usaprepares.com/financial/lead-smelter-in-herculaneum-set-to-close-in-2013

Lead is already expensive and in short supply. I fear our avocation will have to make (non-authentic) adjustments or will lost large numbers of participants. Imported lead is bound to be very expensive.

 

[Jim Blair]

That article is slightly misleading.The Doe Run smelter operation is a refining smelter,they turn raw ore into refined lead.There are approximately,at last count,about 16 recycling smelters operating in the U.S.that said,I still hoard lead.The writings on the wall,backdoor gun control,no bullets,guns are decorations on the wall.

 

[jamesthomas]

Well, after reading it a couple of times I noticed its the primary lead smelter in the U.S.A. But they also mentioned 9 other lead smelting plants in Missouri, I wonder what those do? Jan.31st as the closing date, but they MIGHT build another one that's more ECO friendly in the same town.

 

[Jim Blair]

From a fellow shooter in Missouri-



Doe Run's mining operation & smelter emissions for the last thirty or so years were cleaner than were required under federal & state eco regulations............ the problem is that until then, for decades, they operated with no scrubber technology on their stacks/which caused a thin film of lead dust to coat nearly all of the surrounding countryside. Their mine tailings were allowed to be placed anywhere/as long as they weren't in the way........ thus contaminating nearly all the ground water there. & there is no good solution to containing/abating the "pollution". Doe Run officials & EPA both have opined that the cheapest source of virgin lead will be red China............. they pay even less in wages than in Mexico & have NO troublesome eco laws.

 

[Many Klatch]

Lead is often a byproduct of refining silver bearing ore. As long as the price of silver is high there will be new lead. Lead is not going to go away as long as there are lead/acid batteries being recycled. That being said, I stocked up years ago.

Many Klatch

 

[George T.]

I hope that your right but I do not trust the establishment well enough to think this is not just another way to limit gun usage!

Geo. T.

 

[Greebe]

Nah, they are going after lead hard these days with the basis of environmental impact. A lot of places now days they do not let you hunt with it. I have even heard that they are trying to keep you from shooting it on your own property because it is a pollutant. Same reasoning as that which makes it illegal to dump your used motor oil out on the ground, and you can get a heaping fine for that.

I have never heard of anyone getting lead poisoning from using lead bullets for target practice or hunting. In fact when I was working in a trauma center most bullets got left in people with GSW's(gun shot wounds). I asked quite a few doc's if there was a risk of lead poisoning and they said there was 0 problems doing this, and blood and tissue testing backed that up. So that makes you wonder doesn't it.

 

[Adui]

Its not about real data from decades of tests. It's about pleasing the special interest groups because lead is evil. (and one can get lead poisoning if exposed in certain ways, such as drinking from a lead lined container or eating lead based paint chips, so they have their data as well..)

 

[Woodyrock]

I guess that 2000# keel weight I have is gaining value...that or, I will never run out of casting material.
Woody

 

[shroompics]

I posted this link in the "2nd Amendment" section,
but it probably belongs here...
http://www.nraila.org/news-issues/...ast-us-lead-smelter-to-close-in-december.aspx

Looks like the price of lead may be going up next year. I wish there was an easy way to sift spent rounds out of the lava cinderpits here. Anyone got a spare lead magnet?

shroompics

 

[shroompics]

Sorry, I see that Rifleman1776 already posted on this. (Post: coming lead shortage (Topic#283492)

shroompics

 

Looks like the end of shooting as we know it. Soon they will go to ranges and not allow anyone to have range scrap just like how tire shops wont let anyone have tire weights anymore

 

[Darto]

At least in the short run. Reason I ask is the last smelter of lead ore in America is going to shut down soon (gov't regulations chased them out of business profit).
http://www.nraila.org/news-issues/...ast-us-lead-smelter-to-close-in-december.aspx

 

[Walks with fire]

I bet the price of factory roundball just went up a good bit. Who knows; they might be the next ammo shortage item. I had trouble finding ball in the local shops this year and they said they couldn't get it. I ordered some online.

 

[jamesthomas]

Looks like the end of shooting as we know it. Soon they will go to ranges and not allow anyone to have range scrap just like how tire shops wont let anyone have tire weights anymore

Well, maybe in your area, but I just scrounged about 10lbs. from my local tire shop. I'll be doing some ingot making come Friday, Going to go back tomorrow with a bigger bucket.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Looks like the end of shooting as we know it. Soon they will go to ranges and not allow anyone to have range scrap just like how tire shops wont let anyone have tire weights anymore

Well, maybe in your area, but I just scrounged about 10lbs. from my local tire shop. I'll be doing some ingot making come Friday, Going to go back tomorrow with a bigger bucket.

That tire shop stuff is probably zinc and/or other alloys. Due to the lead shortage and environmental scares, wheel weights have not been pure lead for years.

 

[Canute Rex]

Here's my answer to the high cost of lead: A plywood box, 18" wide by 18" high by 36" long, with a hinged top, filled with rubber playground mulch. Stick a target on a small end and bang away. After 50 rounds or so open the top and claw through for spent ball. There will be a sawdust "blossom" in the region where they come to rest. Chuck them in the melting pot and repeat.

I found that I lose less than 1% weight of the recovered balls. Keep the mulch topped up or your high shots will go out the back. Keep a stack of 1/4" thick plywood squares for replacing the front when it gets too shot up.

At 1% loss, if my math serves me right, I could get 5,050 shots out of 100 original balls before I was down to my last one.

 

[jamesthomas]

No Sir!, the lead I got are those stick-on wheel weights, and yes I know which ones are lead and the ones that are zinc. A finger nail puts a nice groove in them. The clip-on ones are zinc and other stuff. The stick-on ones can be pure lead or zinc. The pure lead ones are flat and heavy for their size and make a "dull thud" sound when dropped on concrete and the zinc ones are ingot shaped and are lighter in color and weight. There are some flat zinc ones but the color and weight of them give them away.

 

[Squeeze]

east coast baby! after Sandy came through theres sailboat keels O plenty all over the place waiting to be salvaged. I got a few friends together and we picked a good one already on land and hauled to a dump staging lot, had 2 mason saws and a stack of abrasive wheels and cut the whole boat up in a short day. Carting co was happy, we were happy, everyone got a few hundred lbs, (at least) of nice clean lead. the more I hear, the more I think one more may be in order...

 

[RonRC]

Lead-Acid batteries use about 80% of the lead in the USA. Ammo lead is a very small part of the total lead demand.
About 96% of the lead used in battery manufacturing is recycled.
So, there is no real demand for primary lead smelters, with primary meaning smelting of ore to make new lead.
There is, and will be, plenty of lead. The politics of lead usage is another question entirely.
This information comes from the Battery Council International.
Ron

The shutting of the Doe Run plant is really for economics. It is just not economical to be a primary lead smelter.