The average operating rate of primary lead smelters in three provinces this week (December 19-25, 2025) was 67.11%, down 0.24 percentage points WoW.
This week, a small-scale smelter in Henan saw a slight decline in production, while a smelter in Hunan that had undergone crude lead maintenance had not yet resumed operations. As a result, primary lead production continued to decline. The main increase came from the resumption of operations at a smelter in Yunnan after maintenance. Smelters in other regions maintained normal operations. In east China, one smelter continued to ramp up production after maintenance, while another that had previously suspended operations for maintenance had not yet resumed and is expected to restart production after the New Year's Day holiday.
