Secondary lead smelters operating rates edged higher to 11.4%

SHANGHAI, Feb 28 (SMM) – Operating rates across licensed smelters of secondary lead in Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan and Guizhou edged up by 1.5 percentage points from a week earlier to 11.4% in the week ended February 28, showed a SMM survey.

Prolonged production time of Guizhou Jinlong and resumption of Guizhou Yongxin lifted the average rate in Guizhou province to 11% this week. Yongxin smelter currently produces around 200 mt of secondary lead per day. Unstable supply of feedstock waste materials remained the long-standing problem facing secondary lead producers. 

The average operating rates in Jiangsu, Anhui and Henan were unchanged on the week, standing at 33.3%, 0% and 0%, respectively.