Warm weather improves operations across lead concentrate producers in Mar

SHANGHAI, Mar 22 (SMM) – Operations across lead concentrate producers in March improved from a month ago as warmer weather allowed northern mines to resume and as there were no public holidays to disrupt operation.

According to SMM’s latest survey, operating rates across Chinese lead concentrate producers are likely to rise 15 percentage points from February to stand at 39.2% in March. The survey covered 86 producers with annual capacity totaling 767,000 mt.

The rates across mines with capacity of above 10,000 mt are expected to climb 12.4 percentage points to 34.6%. A longer month of March also made up for the impact from the severe accident at Yinman Mining site in Inner Mongolia in February.

Rates across lead concentrate producers with capacity of 5,000-10,000 mt are likely to increase 21.1 percentage points to 52.7% this month as a longer month and a higher quality of run-of-mine ore at some producers in Jiangsu drive up production of lead concentrate.

Small lead concentrate producers with capacity of below 5,000 mt are likely to operate at an average rate of 40.2%, up 19.9 percentage points month on month.