Yunnan supports commercial stockpiling of non-ferrous metals to prop up market

Published: Apr 26, 2020 16:39

Save

The government of Southwest China’s Yunnan province has rolled out plans to promote major companies’ commercial stockpiling of key non-ferrous metals, including copper, aluminium, lead, zinc, tin, germanium and indium, as part of the effort to support the metals market impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and to boost the development of the real economy.

SHANGHAI, Apr 26 (SMM) – The government of Southwest China’s Yunnan province has rolled out plans to promote major companies’ commercial stockpiling of key non-ferrous metals, including copper, aluminium, lead, zinc, tin, germanium and indium, as part of the effort to support the metals market impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and to boost the development of the real economy.

According to a statement by Yunnan government on April 24, companies will stockpile a total amount of non-ferrous metals by 800,000 mt, with a purchase and storage period of one year.

The government will also provide financial support for companies to carry out the stockpiling, by setting up a special fund of 1 billion yuan to subsidised interest rates on the company loans.

Companies that stockpile tin, germanium and indium will receive an interest rate subsidy by 80% and companies purchasing copper, primary aluminium, lead and zinc will be subsidised based on 60% of the interest rate on loans.

SMM learned that some companies in Yunnan have received the notice and are awaiting for further details regarding the implementation of the measures.

The stockpiling activity is set to reduce metal supply pressure in some markets, like tin, indium and germanium, and take the pressure off producers who faced decreased sales due to the coronavirus impact. Large-scale companies will most benefit from preferential interest rates during the stockpiling.

Market commentary Copper aluminium lead zinc tin germanium indium

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM's internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

For any inquiries or for more information, please contact: lemonzhao@smm.cn

For more information on how to access our research reports, please contact:service.en@smm.cn

Related News

45 mins ago

Platinum futures drift higher; spot market trading moderate [SMM daily review]

45 mins ago

1 hour ago

US August CPI Data Released; Silver Market Sees Strong Wait-and-See Sentiment as Futures Consolidate [SMM Daily Review]

1 hour ago

Sep 12, 2026 16:51

Yingkou Jianfa Shenghai Phase I 300,000 mt Copper Cathode Project Smelting Furnace Starts Production, Pyrometallurgy System Enters Furnace Drying Stage

At 9:58 am on 12 September, the core smelting furnace of the polymetallic recovery project's pyrometallurgy system at Yingkou Jianfa Shenghai Nonferrous Chemical Co., Ltd. was successfully ignited, officially entering the furnace drying stage and marking a key step toward full-line commissioning and production. Public information shows that the Yingkou Jianfa Shenghai polymetallic complex gold-silver ore comprehensive recovery technology upgrade, relocation and expansion project uses copper concentrates as its main raw material, with an overall planned capacity of 600,000 mt/year of copper cathode. It is being built in two phases, with capacity of 300,000 mt/year in each phase. Phase one is designed to produce 300,000 mt/year of copper cathode and 1.18 million mt/year of sulphuric acid, supported by smelting, converting, anode refining, electrolysis, slag beneficiation and precious metal recovery systems. Following the ignition, the project will carry out standardised furnace drying and hot-state integrated commissioning across the entire system, verifying equipment, instrumentation, interlocks and automatic control systems. The project has not yet formally started raw material feed and production. Once furnace drying and system commissioning are completed, it will move forward with bringing the phase-one 300,000 mt/year copper cathode capacity into production. If the project is successfully commissioned, it will increase copper smelting capacity in north-east China and further boost China's demand for copper concentrate raw materials.

Sep 12, 2026 16:51