Shanghai Nonferrous Metals News
SMM: China produced 342.5 kt of zinc concentrates in November 2019, down 2.1% m-o-m and down 8.1% y-o-y, represented by an operational rate of 74.9%. China’s zinc concentrate output during the first 11 months of 2019 reached 3.58 mln t, down 5.8% y-o-y.
Several large zinc mines halted operation in November amid cold weather, curbing zinc concentrate output by 770 t (in Zn metal) during the month. Furthermore, northern zinc concentrate producers have little incentive to produce in the wake of shrinking profits triggered by falling zinc prices and high PC charges. A number of southern miners have increased their November output to feed downstream smelters’ increased demand for winter stocking.
Looking forward to December, domestic zinc concentrate output is likely to drop further as a result of increased suspensions at miners during cold weather and scheduled maintenance in the month.
