Global Lead Mine Production Will Approach Five Million Tonnes by 2020 As Demand Increases

Thursday 16 February 2017, Amsterdam

Global lead mine production is set to grow from 4.57 million tonnes (Mt) to around 5 Mt by 2020, representing a compound annual growth rate of 2.1%, according the key player.

The company’s latest report states that this growth can be attributed to various upcoming lead projects including Russia’s Ozernoe Mine, Mexico’s San Rafael project, and Australia’s Dugald River Project.

Cliff Smee, Head of Research and Analysis for Mining, explains: “A major driver of demand for lead is the global automobile industry. Lead is predominantly used in manufacturing lead-acid batteries which are widely consumed in automobiles, and in 2015 global automobile production was 90.7 million units including, 68.5 million cars and 22.2 million commercial vehicles.”

In 2015, the global lead mine (or metal content in the ore) production plunged 7.8% to 4.6 Mt as production from China declined by a substantial 25.2%, followed by Australia at 10.6% and the US at 5.5%. This was due to sluggish economic conditions and falling demand for lead acid batteries, which also meant that global lead prices fell by 14.7% over the same period. However, it is likely demand since 2015 has recovered.

• Comments provided by Cliff Smee, Head of Research and Analysis for Mining.
• Information based on this report: Global Lead Mining to 2020.
• This report was built using data and information sourced from proprietary databases, primary and secondary research, and in-house analysis conducted by the team of industry experts.