During this week (August 22-28, 2025), the average operating rate of primary lead smelters in three provinces stood at 68.33%, increasing slightly by 0.26 percentage points WoW.
This week, smelters in Henan maintained stable operations, while a medium-to-large-scale smelter is expected to undergo maintenance and implement slight production cuts next week. A mid-sized smelter in Hunan reduced output slightly due to fluctuations in raw material grade, and a small-scale smelter in Yunnan partially resumed operations. Another smelter originally scheduled to start production in late August may postpone its commencement until month-end September. Beyond these three provinces, a smelter in north China entered routine maintenance this week, with production expected to resume in mid-to-late September. An enterprise in central China indicated its crude lead department will undergo routine maintenance by Q3-end, though primary lead production schedules remain unchanged for now. A smelter in east China that implemented minor production cuts last week restored output as planned this week.
