Primary lead smelters operating rates fell slightly on week

SHANGHAI, Apr 2 (SMM) — Operating rates across primary lead smelters in Henan, Hunan and Yunnan provinces fell slightly from the previous week to 58.3% in the week ended April 2, showed an SMM survey.

Smelters in Henan and Hunan basically kept stable production. Jiyuan and Wanyang recovered from maintenance, and Chenzhou Xiongfeng’s crude lead smelting has not recovered to full capacity due to environmental issues, and its refined lead lines are still suspended.

The average operating rate in Yunnan declined this week as Chihong Zn & Ge started maintenance in early April and is expected to halt production for one month. Gejiu Chuangyuan has restarted production, and is likely to return to normal operation next week. West Mining will suspend production for one month for maintenance in April.