Lead is NASTY stuff. When Jesús is melting old battery plates to make fishing weight sinkers I raise hell if the granddaughters are anywhere on the property. He freaked when I forced him to use a painter's mask and he found black shadows where he was breathing through his mouth and nose. Time for showering off with strong dishwashing liquid.
Deka seems to be operating a successful lead smelter in Pennsylvania.
But it is "impossible" finance-wise to reclaim and process virgin grade lead from recycled battery lead. You ought to see the price difference. SLOPPY SLOPPY SLOPPY quality control of alloy lead. This pressures the BCI to issue leverage to STANDARDIZE the amount of contaminants in base grid and paste composition. Part of the reason AGM batteries (good ones) cost more, is they demand virgin 100% Pb. At four times the price per pound over recycled lead.
Mexico is a prime virgin Pb producer. We shall see what Tijuana reveals.
