SHANGHAI, Dec 17 (SMM) – Nyrstar, one of the world's largest zinc smelters, said on Thursday that its Auby zinc project will begin maintenance in the first week of January 2022 to cope with the current and future price hike of electricity in France.

Nyrstar had cut the output of its three zinc smelters in Europe (Budel, Balen in Belgium and Auby in France) by 50% in October. The production capacity of Nystar includes Budel 300,000 mt/year, Balen 260,000 mt/year, Auby 150,000 mt/year. The nuclear power supply of power companies is relatively low due to the relatively high cost of carbon emissions in France. Therefore, the overall electricity prices in Europe are at high levels and fluctuate greatly, which may be difficult to resolve in the short term.