A Small-scale Yunnan Smelter Halts Production Due to Raw Material Supply Issues, April Restart Uncertain

According to China Customs data, China’s cumulative refined lead imports reached 33,412 mt in January-February 2026, surging 732.08% YoY. Of this, imports in February alone were 21,072 mt, up 70.77% MoM and soaring 1,169.62% YoY, hitting a new high for the same period in recent years.

Import side, cumulative refined lead imports in January-February reached 33,412 mt, surging 732.08% YoY. Of this, February imports alone were 21,072 mt, up 70.77% MoM and 1,169.62% YoY, hitting a new high for the same period in recent years; raw material supply remained ample.

Western Mining Group Technology Development Co., Ltd., with high-efficiency flotation reagents at its core, developed new-type lead-gold-silver collectors and zinc depressants, establishing an efficient mineral processing technology system. This technology effectively reduced zinc impurity content in lead concentrates and significantly improved the recovery efficiency of precious metals. After the research results were industrially applied at Western Mining Co., Ltd. Xitieshan Branch, mineral processing capacity increased from the designed 1.32 million mt/year to 1.5 million mt/year; lead and zinc recovery rates reached 92.76% and 95.66%, respectively, while gold and silver recovery rates increased by 4.65 and 2.73 percentage points, respectively.