Environmental curbs slow operation across primary lead smelters on week

SHANGHAI, Sep 27 (SMM) – The average operating rate across primary lead smelters in Henan, Hunan and Yunnan provinces continued to fall this week as intensified anti-smog campaign in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, and surrounding areas deterred production in Henan.  

An SMM survey indicated that the average run-rate across primary lead smelters in Henan, Hunan and Yunnan fell 1.7 percentage points from the previous week, to 56.7% in the week ending Friday September 27.

Operating rates in Henan slipped 3.3 percentage points week on week to 75.2%. The rates for Yunnan and Hunan, however, remained unchanged at 28.8% and 43.3%, respectively, as local smelters were unaffected by environmental curbs and maintained normal operation.

Mengzi smelter in Yunnan ended maintenance on September 26 and may recover next week.