Reuters reported that aluminum and lead production in China is rising after smelters in Henan and Guizhou received more power supplies this month allowing them to ramp up idle and new capacity.
A trader at a large aluminum smelter in central Henan province the largest aluminium and lead producing area in China said that “We reopened some idle capacity. But it would take us about three months to reopen all capacity.”
The speed of reopening all idle capacity at the smelter which had closed 650,000 tonnes of capacity would depend on aluminum prices. Most operating smelters in China were making only small profits from the current Chinese aluminium prices.
Smelter officials said that increased production may push up aluminium and lead stocks in China the world's top producer of the two metals, this month as the demand has not picked up from the Lunar New Year celebrations.
The trading manager at the firm said that a lead and zinc producer in Henan reopened all idle capacity this month after it had cut production by 10% in December and January. Our idle capacity was reopened during the Lunar New Year holiday after having slowed the production for 2 months referring to the national holiday on February 2nd to 8th 2011.
He said that 100,000 tonne per year lead smelter in Lingbao city in Henan which had halved production on local power cuts, closed all production for repairs in late January and plans to reopen full operations in early March. We don't have power shortages anymore.
Smelter sources said that in southwest Guizhou province, where power hungry aluminum smelters had suffered power cuts as energy demand soared amid the freezing weather in December and January, almost all power supplies were resumed this month. We started production at a new 50,000-tonne capacity unit this week.
Power supply cuts forced aluminium smelters in Henan to keep well over 800,000 tonnes of annual capacity idle between December 2010 and January 2011.
（Sourced from Reuters）
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