According to a survey by SMM, the operating rate of primary lead smelters this week (December 14–20, 2024) was 62.91%, down by 1.56 percentage points WoW.
This week, the production of a small-scale smelter in Henan Province slightly declined, while the production of other smelters remained stable. In Hunan Province, some smelters were affected by environmental protection-driven production restrictions, leading to a suspension of crude lead production. As a result, primary lead production slightly declined this week. However, next week, some smelters in the region are also expected to suspend primary lead production due to insufficient crude lead supply, with the operating rate of primary lead production anticipated to decline further. Additionally, a smelter in the region originally planned to conduct routine maintenance at the end of December, but the plan was brought forward due to environmental protection-driven production restrictions. Outside the surveyed samples of the three provinces, a smelter in Jiangxi Province slightly increased production in December and has since maintained stable production. A smelter in Inner Mongolia slightly increased production after improving the grade of commissioned materials. Meanwhile, a smelter in Guangdong Province, which originally planned to resume routine maintenance at the end of December, has postponed the resumption to after the New Year holiday in January.
》Click here for more details in the SMM Lead Industry Chain Database
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