SHANGHAI, Feb 15 (SMM) – Production of refined zinc in China declined 3.31% month on month and 11.46% year on year to stand at 433,600 mt in January, showed an SMM survey.

Surveyed capacity shrank 100,000 mt/year to 6.085 million mt/year. Dismantled capacity at Zhuzhou Smelter Group, of 250,000 mt/year, were excluded and 150,000 mt/year of capacity at Wenshan Zinc and Indium Smelting and Sihuan Zinc & Germanium Technology were included.

Even as concentrate treatment charges continued to climb, zinc output fell from December as production cuts at large plants exceeded production recovery or growth.

Output at Zhuzhou Smelter Group continued to decline in January as it took time for its new plant to ramp up capacity.

For the same month, Hechi Nanfang cut production for maintenance on power issues while Hanzhong Zinc maintained its output.

Chihong Zinc and Germanium recovered from production cuts and Wenshan Zinc and Indium expanded production.

While most smelters maintained normal production during the Chinese New Year holidays and Hechi Nanfang’s production continues to recover, output of refined zinc in China is likely to decline in the shorter month of February.

Production plans across smelters showed that output is estimated to dip 2,000 mt, or 0.47% from January to 431,600 mt in February, down 6% from a year earlier.