Peru canceled the operating license of US-based Doe Run for a large smelter complex in La Oroya after the firm failed to meet a deadline for submitting a new environmental protection plan, President Alan Garcia said Wednesday.
"The deadline has passed for Doe Run to resolve the issue of environmental contamination," Garcia told lawmakers during his annual independence day message.
"The law will be strictly enforced and the operating permit canceled."
Doe Run Peru's sprawling metallurgical complex was shut down a year ago as the company, a unit of US-based Renco Group, suffered from weak demand due to the global economic crisis.
The government earlier this year told Doe Run that any reopening would require compliance with new environmental rules. This prompted protests from workers seeking to reopen smelters open to keep their jobs.
La Oroya, a town of 30,000 located 185 kilometers (115 miles) east of Lima, is ...