SHANGHAI, Sep 8 (SMM) – China produced 276,900 mt of refined lead in August, down 0.75% from July and 2.69% from a year ago. For January-August, output rose 5.44% from the same period last year. Production capacities of enterprises involved in the survey stand at 5.48 million mt in total in 2021.

According to SMM survey, the impact of power restrictions in Yunnan, Henan and Hunan remained in August, causing companies to restrict production in rotation. During this period, smelting enterprises that were affected by power restrictions in July resumed production. Yunnan Chihong, Henan Minshan and Shibin Industrial returned to normal production. However, Henan Jinli, Wanyang and Xinling were still affected by power restrictions. Yunnan Mengzi remained under maintenance. Although maintenance of Chifeng Shanjin has ended, the overall output decline was not made up.

Smelting enterprises that had curtailed electricity in August will gradually recover in September. At the same time, overhaul at Yunnan Mengzi was completed. Hunan Yuteng and Anhui Tongguan recovered in September after overhaul. Xing’an Silver Lead Smelting in Inner Mongolia began maintenance in September.

On the whole, output is expected to only increase slightly from the previous month. SMM expects output of refined lead in September to reach 278,000 mt.