Operating rates at lead concentrate producers

Around the CNY holiday in February, due to restrictions on logistics and transportation, some lead and zinc ore mines delayed sales or shipments. Therefore, inventory increased slightly and was gradually reduced after the CNY. Lead and zinc ore mines in Tibet, Inner Mongolia and Gansu where the temperatures were low shut down for 1 to 3 months. Most lead and zinc ore mines’ beneficiation plants closed for 7 to 14 days during the CNY in February. Many mines that maintained normal production in January cut output by 50% in February. As such, the operating rates of lead and zinc ore mines dropped significantly in February. Affected by the low operating rates at lead-zinc ore mines and other multi-metallic ore beneficiation plants in February, the supply of crude lead produced with lead concentrate tightened. In March, lead and zinc ore mines will gradually resume production as planned. According to new samples, the average operating rate of lead and zinc ore mines will increase by 18.3 percentage points to 54.1% in March.