China lead concentrate production up by 33.5% YOY in November 2013

BEIJING (Asian Metal) 16 Dec 13 – According to the statistics published by the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the lead concentrate production was 331,745t in China in November 2013, up by 16% month-on-month and up by 33.5% year-on-year.

Lead concentrate production totaled 2,941,524t in the first eleven months of 2013, up by 12.3% compared with the reported volume in the same period of 2012.

Although the data showed lead concentrate production increased greatly in November, the availability of lead concentrate declined in Chinese spot market in November, due to the decline of lead and silver prices.

Lead concentrate 60%min prices declined from RMB12,000-12,400/metal ton in October to RMB11,800-12,300/metal ton in Chinese spot market in November. Meanwhile, the silver prices declined from about RMB4,500/kg to about RMB4,100/kg during November. In view of the dropping lead and silver prices, some lead concentrate suppliers were reluctant to sell the material, leading to the tightening supply of lead concentrate in domestic market.

Some lead-zinc mines halted production in Tibet and Qinghai provinces in mid or late November due to the cold weather. However, the temperature is not so low in northern area of China this winter as that in the same period of past years, so some mines delay to halt production in late December or January. Therefore, the lead concentrate production may decline gradually in the coming months. Some lead smelters are active in piling up lead concentrate now.