According to SMM, both supply and demand in the lead concentrate market declined in February. Smelters in Hunan and Yunnan suspended raw material procurement offers due to maintenance shutdowns during the Chinese New Year holiday. Some producers adopted a cautious purchasing approach towards silver in silver-bearing lead ores, fearing a price decline. The short-term unilateral bullish sentiment for silver has significantly faded. The payable indicator for silver contained in lead concentrates remained stable in the near term. Should silver prices enter a downward trend, smelters may consider negotiating a lower coefficient. Although extreme offers, where smelters actively reduce TCs to "snap up" silver-bearing lead concentrate raw materials, have almost disappeared after the holiday, a few small-scale, low-silver lead mines slightly increased lead concentrate TCs to hedge against silver price downside risks. However, smelters generally indicated that it remains difficult to raise mainstream lead concentrate TC offers in March.

According to customs data, the imports of lead concentrates in April 2025 were 111,046 mt, down 4.3% MoM but up 22.1% YoY. As of 2025, the cumulative imports of lead concentrates were approximately 448,700 mt, up 41% YoY. In terms of source countries, Russia, the US, and Peru were the major suppliers of lead concentrates.

[SMM Analysis: Lead Concentrates Imports in April 2025 Remained Stable with a Slight Decline, Domestic Lead Concentrates Market Continued in Tight Balance] According to customs data, imports of lead concentrates in April 2025 reached 111,046 mt, down 4.3% MoM and up 22.1% YoY. The cumulative imports of lead concentrates in 2025 amounted to approximately 448,700 mt, representing a 41% increase YoY compared to 2024. By country, Russia, the US, and Peru were the major sources of lead concentrates imports in April.

SMM reported on May 16: Previously, Yuguang Gold and Lead Group released a record of investor activities, which mentioned the production, pricing, and sales of copper, gold, silver, and sulphuric acid. The company stated that its copper capacity reached 150,000 mt, with raw material procurement pricing following the "copper grade × coefficient" model to accurately calculate costs. In sales, the company uses the market prices on the Nonferrous Metals Network as a benchmark to ensure fair and transparent transaction prices, closely following market dynamics to effectively balance costs and revenues. For gold, the annual capacity is approximately 15 mt, produced through lead ore smelting, with the main sales channel being the Shanghai Gold Exchange. In procurement, pricing is based on the gold grade in lead ore multiplied by a coefficient, and sales prices fluctuate with the market, closely following market dynamics. For silver, the company has an annual capacity of 1,800 mt, produced as a by-product of lead ore smelting. The company mainly earns processing fees, with mines playing a dominant role in the profit distribution of the industry chain. For sulphuric acid, the annual capacity is approximately 900,000 mt, with significant regional price differences and sharp fluctuations. Prices could reach over 600 yuan/mt at their peak and currently maintain at over 500 yuan/mt, with considerable uncertainty in price trends. In addition, the company also stated that its by-products include various minor metals such as zinc oxide and antimony, all of which are derivatives from the lead smelting process. Due to the low grade of raw ore for these by-products, they are often priced at low costs or even not priced at all during raw material procurement, resulting in significantly lower production costs compared to main products. Leveraging this cost advantage, the company has achieved a high gross profit margin in the by-product production sector, becoming an important supplement to profit growth. According to the company's previously released 2024 annual report and Q1 2025 performance report, the company achieved a total revenue of 39.345 billion yuan in 2024, up 22.40% YoY. The net profit attributable to shareholders of the publicly listed firm was 807 million yuan, up 38.88% YoY. In the annual report, the company stated that in 2024, it achieved a total production of 555,600 mt of lead products, 164,900 mt of copper cathode, 15.13 mt of gold, and 1,566.24 mt of silver, representing increases of 0.31%, 7.53%, 29.11%, and 2.25% YoY, respectively. Revenue, profit, and tax revenue all reached their highest levels in history. Yuguang Gold and Lead Group stated that during the reporting period, the company's revenue and operating costs from non-ferrous metals, precious metals, and chemical products all increased, primarily due to the increase in production and sales volume of the company's main products, coupled with rising market prices. In addition, during the reporting period, the increase in production and sales volume of the company's main products, including primary lead, copper cathode, gold, and silver, along with rising market prices, led to increases in revenue, operating costs, and gross profit for products such as lead, copper, gold, and silver. The rising market prices of antimony products and sulphuric acid have led to a significant increase in operating revenue and gross profit. Regarding the production and operation targets for 2025, Yuguang Gold and Lead Group stated that it aims to produce 702,000 mt of lead products, 15 mt of gold, 1,700 mt of silver, 155,000 mt of copper cathode, and 875,000 mt of sulphuric acid in 2025. In terms of Q1 performance, the company achieved operating revenue of approximately 10.395 billion yuan, up 21.29% YoY. Net profit attributable to shareholders of the publicly listed firm was approximately 229 million yuan, up 35.38% YoY. The company's production and sales of major products in Q1 are as follows: As can be seen from the figure, the company's lead product production in Q1 reached 160,000 mt, with sales of 150,000 mt, both showing an upward trend. In particular, production increased by 16.89% YoY. It is worth mentioning that the performance of lead prices in Q1 was also remarkable. The main SHFE lead contract rose from 16,825 yuan/mt at the beginning of 2025 to 17,445 yuan/mt, with a total increase of 620 yuan/mt, or 3.68%. In terms of spot prices, according to SMM spot quotes, the SMM 1# lead ingot spot price was 16,775 yuan/mt at the beginning of 2025 and rose to an average spot price of 17,150 yuan/mt on March 31, with a quarterly increase of 2.24%. 》Click to view SMM lead product spot quotes On April 10, Yuguang Gold and Lead Group was also asked about the impact of US tariffs on its operations. The company stated that it currently has no export business to the US. In terms of imports, the amount of ore purchased from the US each year accounts for a relatively small proportion. Given the widespread distribution of global mineral resources, the lead ore the company purchases from other countries can effectively replace resources. Therefore, the current impact of Sino-US tariff policies on the company's operations is relatively small. However, the US's move to impose tariff hikes on numerous countries globally has already triggered severe fluctuations in the commodity and capital markets. The subsequent impact on the company's business is temporarily difficult to predict, and the company will closely monitor the development of related events.

SMM Analysis: Silver Ore Imports Fell Over 20% MoM in March, but Q1 Still Recorded YoY Growth. According to customs data, silver ore imports in March 2025 were 129,100 mt, down 20.5% MoM and 0.6% YoY. In Q1 2025, cumulative silver ore imports reached approximately 462,000 mt, up 10.18% YoY compared to Q1 2024.

【SMM Weekly Review: Lead Concentrate Market Weekly Brief (March 22, 2025 - March 28, 2025)】Approaching the month-end of March, domestic lead concentrate supply gradually recovered. The strengthening prices of precious metals increased mine profits, prompting some silver-lead-zinc miners to slightly raise their Pb50TC by 100 yuan/mt (metal content). However, smelters indicated that mainstream low-silver lead mines did not increase their Pb50TC quotes. Lead smelters still maintained high demand for the recovery of valuable metals such as silver, copper, and zinc.

[SMM Weekly Review: Weekly Brief on Lead Concentrate Market] As the end of February approaches, there is no expectation of price adjustments for March Pb50TC in the market, and smelters are not expecting a recovery in lead concentrate supply in Q1. This week, silver prices weakened, prompting some smelters to actively inquire and buy the dip. TC for certain high-silver lead ores slightly decreased, but mainstream Pb50TC quotations remained at 500-800 yuan/mt (metal content).

[SMM Weekly Review: Weekly Brief on Lead Concentrate Market] As the end of February approaches, there is no expectation for adjustments in March Pb50TC in the market, and smelters are not expected to see a recovery in lead concentrate supply in Q1. This week, silver prices weakened, prompting some smelters to actively inquire and buy the dip. TC for certain high-silver lead ores slightly decreased, but mainstream Pb50TC quotations remained at 500-800 yuan/mt (metal content).

LME copper opened at $9,384.5/mt overnight, with its center of gravity declining during early trading and bottoming at $9,361/mt.

[SMM Lead Morning Meeting Summary: Downstream Demand Slowly Recovers, Lead Prices Continue to Fluctuate Downward] In the spot market, downstream demand recovered slowly, and the circulation of refined lead increased. Early this week, inventory accumulation temporarily weighed on lead prices. After production resumed at some smelters in Hunan this week, shipments were mainly under long-term contracts with no spot quotations available. Traders' quotations for cargoes self-picked up from production sites were at discounts of 50-0 yuan/mt against the SMM 1# lead average price on an ex-factory basis. In terms of raw material supply, scrap battery recyclers gradually resumed operations. Although the supply of scrap batteries eased slightly, quotations remained firm and were more likely to rise than fall.