8
H. Roberts
Fig. 1 Global secondary lead production excluding recovery via primary smelters
lead-bearing materials. By 2005, when primary lead smelters produced 3.9 Mt, the
share of secondary materials in their feed mix had risen to 20%. Two factors were
largely responsible for this. The first was the commissioning of new primary lead
smelters outside China in the 1990s, initially in Europe and Korea and subsequently
in Canada, that were capable of processing economically a higher share of secondary
feed materials than had been possible with the blast furnaces that had been replaced.
The second was the sharp decline in treatment charges for processing lead concentrates in the early 2000s as Chinese smelters emerged as significant importers of
lead concentrate. This meant that it became uneconomical to run a primary smelter,
especially if it was relying on third-party purchases for most of its concentrate. The
option, therefore, was to increase the share of cheaper secondary materials, principally battery paste, in the feed mix. Figure 2 charts the evolution of the recovery of
lead from secondary feed materials through primary smelters as estimated by CHR
Metals.
Both Figs. 1 and 2 reveal significant changes in global secondary lead production
from around the mid-2000s. While the clearest change is in China, there are some
less obvious developments elsewhere.
For markets outside China, the most significant development affecting the business
of secondary lead smelters from the mid-2000s was the sharp increase in LME lead
prices. After prices averaged under US$500/t in nominal terms over the six years
1998–2003, they began to rise sharply from 2004 before reaching a peak of almost
US$4000/t in October 2007. While LME prices have fallen back from the spike in
2007, and briefly traded back to around US$1000/t during the early stages of the
global financial crisis of 2008/2009, the last decade has seen LME lead prices trade
mostly above US$2000/t, albeit with some relatively short periods when prices have
H. Roberts
Fig. 1 Global secondary lead production excluding recovery via primary smelters
lead-bearing materials. By 2005, when primary lead smelters produced 3.9 Mt, the
share of secondary materials in their feed mix had risen to 20%. Two factors were
largely responsible for this. The first was the commissioning of new primary lead
smelters outside China in the 1990s, initially in Europe and Korea and subsequently
in Canada, that were capable of processing economically a higher share of secondary
feed materials than had been possible with the blast furnaces that had been replaced.
The second was the sharp decline in treatment charges for processing lead concentrates in the early 2000s as Chinese smelters emerged as significant importers of
lead concentrate. This meant that it became uneconomical to run a primary smelter,
especially if it was relying on third-party purchases for most of its concentrate. The
option, therefore, was to increase the share of cheaper secondary materials, principally battery paste, in the feed mix. Figure 2 charts the evolution of the recovery of
lead from secondary feed materials through primary smelters as estimated by CHR
Metals.
Both Figs. 1 and 2 reveal significant changes in global secondary lead production
from around the mid-2000s. While the clearest change is in China, there are some
less obvious developments elsewhere.
For markets outside China, the most significant development affecting the business
of secondary lead smelters from the mid-2000s was the sharp increase in LME lead
prices. After prices averaged under US$500/t in nominal terms over the six years
1998–2003, they began to rise sharply from 2004 before reaching a peak of almost
US$4000/t in October 2007. While LME prices have fallen back from the spike in
2007, and briefly traded back to around US$1000/t during the early stages of the
global financial crisis of 2008/2009, the last decade has seen LME lead prices trade
mostly above US$2000/t, albeit with some relatively short periods when prices have