ST. LOUIS (Jan. 31, 2019) – The Doe Run Company (Doe Run) has donated more than $45,000 to Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) to upgrade the university’s Mining Ventilation Laboratory.

Missouri S&T’s mining and explosives engineering department will use Doe Run’s donation to purchase equipment that helps students practice airflow management techniques. In addition to establishing the lab, Missouri S&T is seeking a new mine ventilation professor to oversee the lab and teach classes related to underground air ventilation.

“We are very grateful for this contribution, as it is critical to our ability to recruit a strong person to head up our research and education in mine ventilation,” said Dr. Kwame Awuah-Offei, interim director of the mining and explosives engineering department at Missouri S&T.

“The new ventilation lab equipment will give students hands-on experience that prepares them for another component of working underground,” said Steve Batts, vice president and chief operating officer for Doe Run. “Knowing how to manage airflow underground is a vital part of a mining operation, and helps increase safety and reduce mining costs. We are constantly working to provide proper airflow and we report on projects like this in our sustainability reports.”

Doe Run’s support of mining education helps train future miners and engineers. In Spring 2018, Doe Run supported Missouri S&T’s Summer Explosives Camp with two full-ride scholarships for students. Doe Run also hosted ten Missouri S&T students as summer interns, providing them with real-world job experience in mine, mechanical and environmental engineering, as well as information technology.

As a member of the Advanced Lead Acid Battery Consortium (ALABC), Doe Run joined NorthStar Battery and EnerSys to donate equipment and funding to Missouri S&T’s Microgrid Industrial Consortium in Fall 2018. The donation supported two new advanced lead battery microgrid systems at the campus’s EcoVillage, a “living laboratory” that is home to solar-powered houses designed and built by Missouri S&T students.

Photo caption (left to right): Dr. Christopher Maples, Missouri S&T interim chancellor, and Dr. Richard Wlezien, vice provost and dean of engineering and computing, receive a $45,160 donation from The Doe Run Company’s Ross Conner, vice president of exploration, and Mark Coomes, vice president – human resources and community relations, to fund new ventilation lab equipment for Missouri S&T’s Mining and Explosives Engineering Department.

About The Doe Run Company

Based in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, The Doe Run Company is a privately held natural resources company and a global provider of lead, copper and zinc concentrates. Dedicated to environmentally responsible mineral and metal production, Doe Run operates one of the world’s largest, single-site lead recycling centers, located in Boss, Missouri, and mines from one of the world’s largest lead mining districts, also in Missouri. The Doe Run Company and its subsidiaries deliver products and services necessary to provide power, protection and convenience. Doe Run has operations in Missouri, Washington and Arizona. For more information, visit www.doerun.com.

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