SMM News, January 27: According to official information from Hunan Zhenqiang Antimony Industry Co., Ltd., a severe accidental fire broke out yesterday evening due to aging wiring within a factory building on the premises. After overnight firefighting efforts and inspections, the site currently shows no further fire hazards. However, the fire extensively damaged the factory building and also affected the plant's blast furnace and reverberatory furnace, rendering them inoperable. Fortunately, there were no casualties in the incident.
It is reported that, under requirements from relevant municipal government departments, Hunan Zhenqiang Antimony Industry must undergo a suspension of production for rectification lasting at least two months. Company personnel also indicated that, factoring in both the rectification period and equipment repairs, the production halt is expected to last more than two months, potentially affecting antimony ingot output by over 2,000 tons.
Market sources noted that as Hunan Zhenqiang Antimony Industry Co., Ltd. is one of the major private manufacturers in Lengshuijiang City, Hunan Province, the two-month production suspension could, to some extent, lead to an overall decline in domestic antimony production.
