China and Peru’s mining recovery may contribute to a 4.6pc increase in global lead production this year compared to 2020, noted analytics company GlobalData.
According to the company’s Aug 26 report, China could see a 3.3pc increase in its lead output, while Peruvian mines would extract 9.9pc more than last year.
GlobalData has forecasted worldwide volumes of the grey metal to reach 4.6mn mt in 2021, from 4.4mn mt in 2020.
Analysts at GlobalData attribute last year’s drop to restricted mining activities following the pandemic that affected Peru the most. The country’s Antamina mine had to suspend operations for 6 weeks in Q3 2020, leading to lagged targets.
The company added that Peruvian output dropped 21.9pc in 2020, thus falling from being the third to the fifth-largest producer in the world. China also saw a reduction of 1.8pc and Australia of 2.1pc.
Regarding the recovery in production levels, the forecast is positive as analysts estimate annual growth of 2.5pc, translating to 5.2mn mt in 2025.
China, Australia, Russia, and Canada will be the largest lead producers in the coming years, with a combined production of up to 3.1mn mt in 2025 from the 2.8mn mt that GlobalData forecasts these countries may achieve this year.