In October 2023, the domestic output of refined lead was 321,800 mt, a gain of 1.89% month-on-month and 8.83% year-on-year. The cumulative output from January to October 2023 increased by 15.6% year-on-year. Total production capacities of enterprises in the survey totalled 5.84 million mt in 2023.
According to SMM survey, in October, the output of medium and large refined lead smelters in Henan, Hunan, Yunnan and other areas climbed, resulting in an output increase of over 10,000 mt. However, during this period, lead smelters in Jiangxi, Yunnan and other regions entered maintenance, and lead smelters in Henan suspended production due to replacement of old equipment.
In November, although the routine maintenance of refined lead smelters in Jiangxi and other regions has ended, some medium and large enterprises in Henan, Yunnan and Hunan started maintenance, resulting in a sharp decline in output. This may drag down the refined lead production in November. Therefore, SMM predicts that the domestic refined lead output will fall by over 10,000 mt month-on-month to 305,000 mt in November. In addition to routine maintenance of lead smelters, Yunnan has implemented power rationing on large industrial power consumers due to the current dry season, including aluminium, zinc and lead smelters. Starting from August, Myanmar's Wa State began to ban mining of tin ores. Border trade of lead and zinc ore has also been affected. Due to the recent conflict in Kokang, Myanmar, China closed some gateways in Yunnan, which will reduce lead concentrate border trade further. The tighter supply of lead concentrate is likely to affect lead ingot output, and the output decline may expand.
