Lead concentrate still in short supply on the Chinese market
2015-05-22 08:50:45 [Print]
BEIJING (Asian Metal) 22 May 15 - Lead concentrate supply remains limited on the Chinese spot market.
A source from a Guangxi-based trading company reported that many small-sized lead-zinc mines are out of production in Guangxi province, due to the low lead prices and strict environmental protection inspection there. “It’s still difficult for us to obtain lead concentrate from mining companies and suppliers’ offers are too high,” said the source, revealing that their sales volume declined to around 1,000tpm, down from around 1,500tpm during the past two years.
“However, as China’s lead concentrate import increased during the first quarter of this year and some lead smelters cut lead ingot output or halted production, due to the low prices, the shortage of lead concentrate supply eased slightly this year,” said the source.
The trader cleared out around 500t of lead concentrate 60%min inventories at around RMB12,000/metal tonne in early May and did not conclude any deals in recent two weeks. “With lead prices declining, we are prudent about rebuilding lead concentrate inventories,” said the source. “The current prevailing prices for the material is around RMB11,700/metal tonne (USD1,918/metal tonne) on the spot market, down by RMB300/metal tonne (USD49/metal tonne) compared with early this month.”
The source commented that as lead prices increased too fast in April and early May but the demand for lead did not improve, lead ingot prices may retreat slightly in the coming weeks.
A source from a Guangxi-based mining company reported that the trading was active on the local spot market, due to the strong demand from lead smelters and limited lead concentrate supply.
“We offered RMB11,700-11,800/metal tonne (USD1,918-1,934/metal tonne) on the local spot market, down by around RMB300/metal tonne (USD49/metal tonne) compared with early this month, due to the decline in lead ingot prices,” said the source. “We have sold around 200t of the material in early May and have around 100t of lead concentrate in stock. Our lead concentrate output is limited while the material sells well, so we are not in a hurry to sell the material right now.”
The mine’s lead concentrate output is around 200tpm.
A source from a Guangxi-based trading company reported that many small-sized lead-zinc mines are out of production in Guangxi province, due to the low lead prices and strict environmental protection inspection there. “It’s still difficult for us to obtain lead concentrate from mining companies and suppliers’ offers are too high,” said the source, revealing that their sales volume declined to around 1,000tpm, down from around 1,500tpm during the past two years.
“However, as China’s lead concentrate import increased during the first quarter of this year and some lead smelters cut lead ingot output or halted production, due to the low prices, the shortage of lead concentrate supply eased slightly this year,” said the source.
The trader cleared out around 500t of lead concentrate 60%min inventories at around RMB12,000/metal tonne in early May and did not conclude any deals in recent two weeks. “With lead prices declining, we are prudent about rebuilding lead concentrate inventories,” said the source. “The current prevailing prices for the material is around RMB11,700/metal tonne (USD1,918/metal tonne) on the spot market, down by RMB300/metal tonne (USD49/metal tonne) compared with early this month.”
The source commented that as lead prices increased too fast in April and early May but the demand for lead did not improve, lead ingot prices may retreat slightly in the coming weeks.
A source from a Guangxi-based mining company reported that the trading was active on the local spot market, due to the strong demand from lead smelters and limited lead concentrate supply.
“We offered RMB11,700-11,800/metal tonne (USD1,918-1,934/metal tonne) on the local spot market, down by around RMB300/metal tonne (USD49/metal tonne) compared with early this month, due to the decline in lead ingot prices,” said the source. “We have sold around 200t of the material in early May and have around 100t of lead concentrate in stock. Our lead concentrate output is limited while the material sells well, so we are not in a hurry to sell the material right now.”
The mine’s lead concentrate output is around 200tpm.
Lead Conc. TC 50%min CIF China
Unit:USD/mt
China lead concentrate producers' output statistics by province by month
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