Apart from its umbilical to Cu this probably explains why the drop in the zinc metal price considering Chinas smelting over capacity. ---------------------------------------------------- China remained a net exporter of zinc (not including alloy) for the third consecutive month in August with the total increasing to 16,122t from a 7,000-8,000t per month range in June and July.
Over the first eight months of this year the country’s net exports totalled 144,209t. China was a net importer of zinc to the tune of 68,000t in the same 8-month period of 2006.
Outright exports were just over 22,000t in August, not quite matching the previous month’s 24,000t, but imports dropped sharply to 5,897t, not quite the lowest monthly figure of the year, but almost.
Cumulative imports fell by 59% to just under 92,000t in Jan-Aug 2007, while cumulative exports rose by 49.7% to 235,900t.
The country remains a net importer of zinc alloy, although cumulative net imports of 109,235t in Jan-Aug were 23.1% off the pace of last year’s level.
CONCENTRATES SURGE
China has been a net importer of zinc metal for only two months this year—April and May—and the shift towards net exporter may be set to continue, judging by the surge in concentrates imports into the country.
At 208,293t (bulk weight, not metal contained) concentrates imports marked a fresh monthly record. Cumulative imports of 1.262 million tonnes in Jan-Aug 2007 were up by 162%, equivalent to a massive 780,000t, on the year-earlier period.
This suggests that a growing amount of the new and restarted mine capacity that is currently coming on stream is being sucked into China, which has the excess smelter capacity to treat it.
Australia is one of the countries fuelling that surge. Imports of concentrates were a fresh monthly record of 89,000t in August, while cumulative imports rocketed by 233% year-on-year to 380,000t.
However, the August figures also showed an import surge from the US. August imports were 22,056t, compared with just 6,099t in the first seven months of this year. This may be a sign of better availability thanks to the restart of the Tennessee mines by Glencore and of the Balmat mine by HudBay. -----------------------------------------------------
d.
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