LeRoi Co Smelter

In 2018, the Town of Northport purchased the Le Roi Smelter property. Prior to the purchase, we met with the Town Council to discuss the owner's responsibilities regarding maintaining the cleanup remedy and the potential for redevelopment. We will continue to work with local officials to assist with redeveloping this property into a beneficial community space.

In 2004, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) consolidated all scrap metal for recycling, consolidated and capped contaminated soil with a protective barrier, and properly disposed of hazardous materials off-site. Access controls and an environmental covenant limit public access and protect the integrity of the cleanup actions. You may read the Removal Action Report and visit EPA's Le Roi Smelter website for more information.

Periodic reviews

Ecology visited the site for periodic reviews in 2017 and 2022, and found the cleanup actions remain intact. 

The LeRoi Co Smelter site covers approximately 30 acres at the northeast end of Northport, Washington.

The facility began smelting copper and gold tellurium ores from the Le Roi Mine in Rossland, British Columbia, and copper, lead, and silver ores from northeastern Washington in 1896. Heap roasting of tellurium ore involved open roasting on brick platforms. Burned ore was placed in a furnace that produced iron and slag waste. Some of the waste was formed into bricks that were then used as construction materials for on-site as well as off-site buildings. The gold and copper concentrate was shipped off the site by rail for further refining.

At the peak of operation, the Le Roi Smelter processed 500 tons of ore per day; operations were suspended in 1909. In 1914, the Le Roi Smelter reopened to process lead ore from Leadpoint, Washington, to meet government demand during World War I. Lead smelting operations during this period produced up to 30 tons per day of airborne sulfur emissions. Operations ceased permanently in 1921, and the Site remained inactive until 1953. The furnace, roaster, crusher, and ore buildings were removed during this period of inactivity.

From 1953 to 2001, the site was used as a lumber mill. The main lumber operations were located in the western portion of the Site, and the eastern portion was used to store lumber products and old metal parts. The lumber mill processed mostly cedar wood from rough-dimension lumber into exterior siding and exterior paneling. Mill processes included cutting, drying, and shipping the wood products. Mill operations ran on propane. No wood treatment or chemical use was reported during the mill’s operating history.