Secondary lead smelters struggled to resume operations amid virus outbreak

SHANGHAI, Feb 14 (SMM) – Operating rates across licensed smelters of secondary lead in Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan and Guizhou were unchanged this week, suggesting that smelters in China struggled to resume production amid the coronavirus outbreak with workers in quarantine and logistical constraints affecting procurement of raw material procurement and sales of finished goods.

The average operating rate stood at 12.6% in the week ended February 14, flat from last week, showed an SMM survey. The rate was 33.3% in Jiangsu, 15.6% in Henan, 0% in Anhui and 0% in Guizhou, all unchanged from the previous week. 

SMM added six companies in Guizhou to the survey. Surveyed capacity accounted for 86.8% of total capacity of 2.96 million mt in the four regions.