Lead concentrate supply remains tight in Inner Mongolia
2014-03-07 13:46:37 [Print]
BEIJING (Asian Metal) 7 Mar 14 - As there are still many lead-zinc mines out of production on cold weather and some suppliers are inactive in selling lead concentrate on low lead and silver prices, the lead concentrate supply remains very tight in Inner Mongolia market.
A source from an Inner Mongolia-based lead smelting company reported that as many lead mines have not resumed production in Inner Mongolia, the lead concentrate supply is still very tight. “It’s hard for us to purchase the material in Inner Mongolia now, so we have to go to Liaoning to purchase the material,” said the source.
The source said that the lead concentrate 60%min prices were about RMB11,900/metal ton (USD1,951/metal ton) delivered to their lead smelter this week, down by about RMB100/metal ton (USD16/metal ton) compared with the prices last week, due to the softening lead ingot prices.
“In line with lead ingot and silver prices heading down, some suppliers are reluctant to sell the material, tightening the supply further,” said the source.
The smelter demands about 6,000t of lead in concentrate per month and holds about 10,000t of lead in concentrate now.
A source from an Inner Mongolia-based lead mining company reported that they have not sold any lead concentrate after Spring Festival, due to the limited output of the material and the low lead and silver prices. “We have about 2,000t of lead concentrate on hand now. We will continue to watch the market and wait for the recovery of lead and silver prices,” said the source.
The source said that the treatment charges for lead concentrate 60%min is about RMB2,000/metal ton (USD328/metal ton) ex works this week. The current lead ingot prices prevailed at about RMB13,700-13,800/t (USD2,246-2,262/metal ton) on Thursday, so their offer for lead concentrate 60%min kept about RMB11,700-11,800/metal ton (USD1,918-1,934/metal ton) ex works, down by about RMB100/metal ton (USD16/metal ton) compared with that last week.
The source said that most mines are still out of production in Inner Mongolia due to the cold weather, so the availability of lead concentrate is very tight in the local market. The source predicted the lead concentrate supply may increase gradually in March and April, when more mines will resume production.
Lead Conc. TC 50%min CIF China
Unit:USD/mt
China lead concentrate producers' number MoM output increase statistics by province by month
Unit: pcs
