China Nonferrous Metals News
Antaike: China produced 3.29 mln t of refined zinc and zinc alloy products during the first eight months of 2019, up 7.9% y-o-y with September output expected to edge up slightly to 438 kt. Antaike data shows zinc output climbed rapidly during Q2 followed by slower growth in Q3 2019. Despite regular maintenance at northern smelters such as Shaanxi Zinc Industry, Xing’an Copper and Zinc and Zhongjin Lingnan during July and August, these smelters have restarted and immediately ramped up operations. In September, Chihong Zinc and Germanium resumed operations after overhaul. In addition, operational rates in the domestic zinc industry have increased further since Q3 2019 compared to H1 2019 after breaking through the bottleneck of zinc smelting capacity in mid-2019.
Looking forward to Q4 2019, high processing charges (PC) are likely to prop smelter profit margins, boosting operational rates accordingly. In Q4 2019, Xiangyun Feilong is set to increase its output moderately, Chihong Zinc and Germanium will resume normal operation after its September overhaul, and Hanzhong Zinc Industries will postpone resumption on its last line to early 2020. Antaike forecast domestic zinc output to increase further to a high point of 1.31 mln t in Q4 2019.
