Domestic zinc concentrate output stood at 220,100 mt in metal content in February

According to the new SMM survey sample with a total capacity of 3.26 million mt/year, the domestic zinc concentrate output stood at 220,100 mt in metal content in February, down 83,100 mt in metal content month-on-month. The average operating rate of zinc concentrate mines was 49.6%, a drop of 15.8 percentage points month-on-month.

According to the former SMM survey sample with a total capacity of 1.82 million mt/year, zinc concentrate output stood at 199,200 mt in metal content in February, down 99,900 mt in metal content month on month. The overall operating rate of zinc concentrate mines was 45.1%, down 21.8 percentage points on the month.

Many mines shut down due to CNY or maintenance, which greatly affected production. Meanwhile, it took time for mines to resume production, resulting in production reductions. The production efficiency at some mines in Inner Mongolia was affected by the colder weather, and their output decreased; some mines in Hebei reduced part of their output due to high ore inventories. There were also mines whose output recovered due to the restoration of stable power supply. Some mines in Jiangxi resumed production.

According to the new sample, output at mines will increase significantly month-on-month in March as mines that had suspended production during the CNY basically resumed production; some of the mines that cut or suspended production during the winter are expected to resume production in March. Mines in some areas of Sichuan stepped up production. SMM estimates that domestic zinc concentrate output will stand at 305,100 mt in metal content in March, up 85,000 mt with metal content on the month. The average operating rate of zinc concentrate mines is estimated at 69.2%.