Perhaps a little melodramatic but the point is the coming zinc shortage has been on the radar quite a while. By and large the projections from this 2012 analysis are being fulfilled, especially the mine closures and moderate increase in demand. The zinc LME inventory levels are going down, the price is going up see
http://www.*****metals.com/charts/zinc_historical.html and it does look we could be returning to the under supply days of 2005-2007.
A reasonable nine page analysis from a Canadian zinc miner, including a lot of pictures, is available at
http://www.richriver.bc.ca/attachments/ZINC_PRICES_ARE_GOING_TO_EXPLODE.pdf and here's a snippet:
"What investors should be focused on is that the coming zinc deficits are predicted to be twice as severe as those which occurred in the mid 2000s. With no quick solution to the approaching supply deficit, given that many of the largest zinc mines have depleted their ore and are shutting down, prices are expected to rise. Demand for zinc is also expected to increase, which will put further pressure on supply and drive up prices."
There are few zinc juniors around as the big miners have been acquiring them. Amongst others, there are AUQ, TRO/HRR, MRP and the biggest junior resource in the world belongs to Ironbark Zinc IBG with their fascinating project in Citronen, Greenland. The IBG presentation on bottom left of their homepage is worth a listen/view
http://ironbark.gl.
(20min delay)