China zinc metal, concentrate production to rise in 2021

China's production of refined zinc and concentrates will increase in 2021, with new mining projects and a recovery in existing domestic production boosting its capacity, attendees at an International Zinc Association (IZA) virtual panel discussion heard on Wednesday March 3.

Fewer production interruptions caused by environmental inspections at domestic smelters, new projects coming online and a ramp-up in production capacity at Xinjiang's Zijin zinc mine will contribute to China's zinc profile growth, according to a presentation at the 2021 International Zinc Conference.
These developments will contribute to China paving the way to reducing its dependence on imported zinc concentrates and refined metal.
China's zinc concentrate import volumes rose by 20.1% in 2020, but were forcast to fall by 5% in 2021, Sandy Kong from the Beijing General Research Institute of Mining & Metallurgy (BGRIMM), Lilan Consulting Group, said during the IZA presentation.

Notably, domestic mine production accounted for 68% of China's total zinc concentrate supply in 2020, with many...

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