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EconomyChina Economy

Chinese floods snarl supply chains for lead and aluminium amid metal market price volatility

  • Flooding that paralysed the central province of Henan last week will hurt China’s output of lead and aluminium, experts say
  • Henan accounts for about 36 per cent of China’s total production capacity for primary lead and about 15 per cent for recycled lead

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Flooding in Henan has killed dozens and tangled supply chains for key materials like aluminium. Photo: AFP
Cissy Zhou

Deadly floods in the central Chinese province of Henan will have an inevitable impact on the supply of non-ferrous metals, with lead and aluminium the most severely hit, according to analysts.

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The flooding, which has been described by local authorities as a “one in one thousand year event”, has killed at least 73 people and affected more than 13 million residents, or 13 per cent of the province’s total population.
The disaster has also tangled supply chains for key materials and products.

The flood-stricken province accounts for about 36 per cent of China’s total production capacity for primary lead and about 15 per cent for recycled lead. It also produces about 5 per cent of the country’s electrolytic aluminium, a metal processed to make aluminium products.

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Central China begins clean-up after record floods but other other cities brace for typhoon

Central China begins clean-up after record floods but other other cities brace for typhoon

Even before the floods, lead and aluminium plants in Henan were not running at full capacity because local governments had restricted electricity due to insufficient coal supply across the country.

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