Anhui is the leading province in domestic secondary refined lead production, maintaining its dominant position from 2022 to 2024. Despite multiple setbacks in 2024, including environmental protection-driven production restrictions and policy changes, its production share continued to rise.
Henan's smelters had a poor production contribution in 2022 due to factors such as the pandemic, raw material shortages, market downturns, and equipment failures. However, in 2023, they performed steadily, ranking second. Notably, in 2024, the lead price fluctuations were more volatile compared to 2023, and with the increase in national capacity, the pressure to procure battery scrap intensified. Consequently, Henan's production significantly declined in 2024, dropping to fifth place.
In 2023, due to the commissioning of Shuyang Tianneng, Jiangsu's refined lead production increased substantially, climbing to third place in production share. In 2024, most smelters in Jiangsu maintained normal production, ranking second in production share.
A major smelter in Jiangxi ceased production at the end of 2022 and resumed in September 2023. Meanwhile, several local smelters underwent technical upgrades and halted production in 2023, slightly weakening Jiangxi's refined lead contribution. In 2024, the stable production of large secondary lead smelters in Jiangxi boosted the region's production share, placing it third.
In H2 2023, the commissioning of the third phase of Tongliao Taiding's project in Inner Mongolia propelled the region's refined lead production share from tenth in 2022 to fifth in 2023. As of 2024, it ranks fourth.
Hunan is the "newcomer" in the 2024 rankings! The commissioning of the large secondary lead smelter, Hunan Kangze Environmental Technology Co., Ltd., in 2023 significantly increased the region's lead production.
Hubei ranked in the top five in 2022. However, after a decline in production contribution in 2023, it stabilized at 6th-7th place. The main reasons for the decline in 2023 were the shutdown and rectification of the large smelter Xinzi starting in May 2023, coupled with production cuts at several other smelters due to raw material shortages and equipment failures, resulting in poor refined lead production.
Hebei's large secondary lead smelter, Hebei Xiongtai Renewable Resources Co., Ltd., commissioned new expanded capacity in June 2023, significantly increasing the region's refined lead production share.
In 2023, Guangxi added a large secondary lead smelter, Guangxi Zhenyu Environmental Technology Co., Ltd., which began production in late January 2023. Consequently, Guangxi's refined lead production share rose from fourteenth in 2022 to seventh in 2023. However, in 2024, due to market losses, production in Guangxi's smelters became highly unstable, leading to a decline in ranking.
Zhejiang's refined lead production share remained relatively stable. Despite increasing operational pressures on smelters, the presence of local raw material recycling enterprises or battery producers provided some relief.
From the distribution of secondary lead production regions, the top five secondary refined lead production areas in 2024 are Anhui, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Inner Mongolia, and Henan. Hunan, Hubei, Hebei, Guangxi, and Zhejiang also showed stable performance.
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