Chinese Zinc Smelters to Cut Concentrate Usage as Losses Deepen

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Molten copper flows into rotating molds during the production of copper cathode sheets in the copper smelting shop at the Uralelectromed OJSC Copper Refinery, operated by Ural Mining and Metallurgical Co., in Verkhnyaya Pyshma, Russia, on March 7, 2017. Photo: Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) — China’s biggest zinc smelters pledged to reduce their intake of concentrate to stem deepening losses on refining the metal, a measure that’s likely to further reduce production in the world’s top supplier.

Processors will cut their ore demand this year by nearly 1 million tons on a metal-contained basis, from their estimate at the start of 2024, according to a statement issued by state-owned research firm Beijing Antaike Information Development Co. The statement didn’t give a total figure.