In the first quarter of 2022, the nonferrous metals industry continued the positive performance trend since 2021, characterized by stable production and rising prices.

I. Production Remained Stable. In the first quarter, output of ten nonferrous metals reached 16.17 million tons, representing a year-on-year increase of 0.9%. Among these, copper, lead, and zinc production stood at 2.644 million tons, 1.811 million tons, and 1.655 million tons, respectively, up 6.1%, 1.2%, and 0.7% year-on-year. Electrolytic aluminum production totaled 9.633 million tons, down 0.4% from the same period last year.

II. Prices Remain at High Levels. In the first quarter, prices of major nonferrous metals continued to run at high levels. The average spot prices for copper, aluminum, lead, and zinc were RMB 71,672 per ton, RMB 22,187 per ton, RMB 15,440 per ton, and RMB 25,548 per ton, respectively, representing year-on-year increases of 14.4%, 37%, 0.6%, and 15.6%. Influenced by growing demand from the new energy sector and tight supply of lithium resources, the average domestic prices for nickel, cobalt, and battery-grade lithium carbonate in the first quarter were RMB 190,000 per ton, RMB 525,000 per ton, and RMB 421,000 per ton, respectively, up 43.2%, 54.4%, and 456% year-on-year.

III. Both imports and exports grew year-on-year. On the export side, China’s exports of unwrought aluminum and aluminum products in the first quarter reached 1.628 million tons, up 26.7% year-on-year, with an export value of US$6.48 billion, an increase of 65% year-on-year. On the import side, copper concentrate imports in the first quarter totaled 6.35 million tons, up 6.7% year-on-year, with an import value of US$13.83 billion, an increase of 12.7% year-on-year; imports of unwrought copper and copper products amounted to 1.473 million tons, up 2.6% year-on-year, with an import value of US$12.17 billion, an increase of 22.2% year-on-year.

Operating Performance of the Copper Industry in the First Quarter of 2022

Release time: 2022-04-29 21:36 Source: Raw Materials Industry Division

First, production remained stable. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, in the first quarter, refined copper production reached 2.644 million tons, an increase of 6.1% year-on-year; copper-processed products output totaled 4.825 million tons, up year-on-year.

5.7%.

Second, inventory declined year-on-year. According to data from Shanghai SteelLink, as of the end of March, copper inventory stood at 124,000 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 60.8%, reaching one of its lowest levels in recent years.

Third, prices remain at high levels. According to statistics from the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, in the first quarter, the average spot price of copper was 71,672 yuan per ton, up 14.4% year-on-year.

Fourth, imports increased year-on-year. According to data from the General Administration of Customs, in the first quarter, copper concentrate imports reached 6.35 million tons, up 6.7% year-on-year, with import value totaling 13.83 billion U.S. dollars, also up year-on-year.

12.7%; imports of unwrought copper and copper products totaled 1.473 million tons, up 2.6% year-on-year, with import value reaching US$12.17 billion, an increase of 22.2% year-on-year.

Operating Performance of the Aluminum Industry in the First Quarter of 2022

Release time: 2022-04-29 21:35 Source: Raw Materials Industry Division

I. Production remained stable. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, in the first quarter, the output of alumina, primary aluminum, and aluminum products reached 18.624 million tons, 9.633 million tons, and 13.937 million tons, respectively, down 3.5%, 0.4%, and 0.5% year-on-year.

II. Inventory Levels Fluctuate Within the Normal Range. According to statistics from industry analysis firms, aluminum ingot social inventory at the end of March stood at 1.062 million tons, down 13.9% from the same period last year, and remains within the normal range of fluctuation.

III. Prices Remain Persistently High. According to statistics from the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, aluminum prices continued to run at high levels in the first quarter, with an average spot price of 22,187 yuan per ton, up year-on-year.

37%.

IV. Imports of bauxite increased year-on-year, while imports of refined aluminum products declined year-on-year. According to data from the General Administration of Customs, in the first quarter, bauxite imports totaled 32.702 million tons, up 20.4% year-on-year; alumina imports (in physical terms) reached 603,000 tons, down 20.2% year-on-year; imports of aluminum scrap and waste amounted to 318,000 tons, up 44.5% year-on-year; and imports of unwrought aluminum totaled 97,000 tons, down year-on-year.

71%. In the first quarter, aluminum exports reached 1.51 million tons, an increase of 22.9% year-on-year.

Operating Performance of the Lead and Zinc Industry in the First Quarter of 2022

Release time: 2022-04-29 21:33 Source: Raw Materials Industry Department

First, production has been growing steadily. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, in the first quarter, lead and zinc production reached 1.811 million tons and 1.655 million tons, respectively, representing year-on-year increases of 1.2% and 0.7%.

Second, prices rose year-on-year. According to statistics from the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, in the first quarter, the average spot prices of lead and zinc were RMB 15,440 per ton and RMB 25,548 per ton, respectively, representing year-on-year increases.

0.6%, 15.6%.

Third, imports declined year-on-year, while exports of lead-acid batteries increased year-on-year. According to data from the General Administration of Customs, in the first quarter, the physical volumes of imported lead concentrate, zinc concentrate, and refined zinc were 214,000 tons, 9.5 million tons, and 42,000 tons, respectively, down 20%, 8.7%, and 68.6% year-on-year. Exports of lead-acid batteries reached 50.21 million units, up 15.6% year-on-year.

Operating Performance of the Nickel, Cobalt, and Lithium Industry in the First Quarter of 2022

Release time: 2022-04-29 21:31 Source: Raw Materials Industry Division

In the first quarter of 2022, China's new energy industry experienced rapid development, with stable growth in the nickel, cobalt, and lithium industries and a significant rise in product prices.

I. Lithium production increased year-on-year, while nickel and cobalt production saw a slight decline. According to data from Beijing Antaike Information Co., Ltd., in the first quarter, China’s output of lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide reached 60,000 tons and 47,000 tons, respectively, representing year-on-year growth of 23.2% and 29.5%. The output of refined cobalt (including electrolytic cobalt, cobalt powder, cobalt salts, etc., expressed in terms of metal content) and primary nickel (nickel products produced from primary raw materials, including electrolytic nickel, nickel-containing pig iron, nickel salts, etc., also expressed in terms of metal content) stood at 30,000 tons and 172,000 tons, respectively, down 2.2% and 1.8% year-on-year.

II. Prices have risen sharply. According to statistics from Beijing Antaike Information Co., Ltd., the average spot prices for electrolytic nickel and metallic cobalt in the first quarter were RMB 190,000 per ton and RMB 525,000 per ton, respectively, representing year-on-year increases of 43.2% and 54.4%. Affected by multiple factors—including supply-demand mismatches, a significant rise in lithium ore procurement costs, insufficient collaboration across the upstream and downstream sectors, and the spread of market panic—lithium product prices have surged. In the first quarter, the average spot prices for lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide were RMB 421,000 per ton and RMB 371,000 per ton, respectively, up 456% and 492% year-on-year.

III. Imports of nickel, cobalt, and lithium smelting products, as well as cobalt concentrates, increased year-on-year, while imports of nickel concentrates declined year-on-year. According to data from the General Administration of Customs, in the first quarter, imports of cobalt concentrates and cobalt hydrometallurgical intermediates reached 7,440 tons and 84,000 tons, respectively, representing year-on-year increases of 277.8% and 23.4%. Imports of electrolytic nickel totaled 55,800 tons, up 74.9% year-on-year, and imports of lithium carbonate reached 27,500 tons, up 44% year-on-year. Meanwhile, imports of nickel concentrates amounted to 4.5 million tons, down 5.3% year-on-year, and imports of electrolytic cobalt totaled 837 tons, down 49.1% year-on-year.

Operating Performance of the Magnesium Industry in the First Quarter of 2022

Release Date: 2022-04-29 21:30 Source: Raw Materials Industry Division

I. Prices remain at high levels. According to statistics from the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, in March, the average price of magnesium was 41,375 yuan per ton, up 166% year-on-year; for the first quarter, the average price was 43,341 yuan per ton, an increase of 189.8% over the same period last year.

II. Exports Increased Year-on-Year. According to data from the General Administration of Customs, in the first quarter, China exported 129,000 tons of various magnesium products, an increase of 10.4% year-on-year; the export value reached 877 million U.S. dollars, up 181.1% year-on-year.

Operating Performance of the Industrial Silicon Industry in the First Quarter of 2022

Release date: 2022-04-29 21:28 Source: Raw Materials Industry Department

In the first quarter of 2022, China's industrial silicon industry operated steadily overall, with robust supply and demand and a significant rise in prices.

I. Both supply and demand in the industry are robust. According to statistics from the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, in the first quarter, China’s industrial silicon production reached 664,000 tons, an increase of 21.2% year-on-year. Driven by demand from the photovoltaic industry, domestic consumption totaled 535,000 tons, up 22.6% year-on-year.

II. Prices have risen sharply. According to statistics from the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, in the first quarter, the average prices of metallurgical-grade industrial silicon 553 and chemical-grade industrial silicon 421 were RMB 20,566 per ton and RMB 23,185 per ton, respectively, representing year-on-year increases of 58.6% and 67.4%.

3. Exports declined year-on-year. According to data from the General Administration of Customs, in the first quarter, China’s exports of industrial silicon totaled 180,000 tons, a decrease of 6.7% compared to the same period last year.

Operating Performance of the Gold Industry in the First Quarter of 2022

Release time: 2022-04-29 21:26 Source: Raw Materials Industry Division

I. Production Increased Year-on-Year. In the first quarter, China produced a total of 107.4 tons of gold, representing a year-on-year increase of 9.2%. Of this total, 83.4 tons were produced using domestically sourced raw materials, up 12% year-on-year; and 24 tons were produced using imported raw materials, up 0.2% year-on-year.

II. Consumption Declined Year-on-Year. In the first quarter, national gold consumption totaled 260.3 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 9.7%. Among these, gold jewelry consumption was 168.9 tons, down 0.2% year-on-year; gold bars and coins consumption was 69.6 tons, down 27.7% year-on-year; and consumption in industrial and other sectors was 21.8 tons, down 4.1% year-on-year.

III. Domestic gold prices rose year-on-year. In the first quarter, the international spot gold fixing price was USD 1,942.2 per ounce, up 7.2% year-on-year; the average domestic spot gold price was RMB 382.2 per gram, up 1.7% year-on-year.

IV. Futures trading volume declined year-on-year. In the first quarter, the Shanghai Futures Exchange recorded a cumulative trading volume of 24,000 tons (two-way) for all gold products, down 8.3% year-on-year. The corresponding trading value totaled 8.4 trillion yuan (two-way), down 6.9% year-on-year. Meanwhile, the Shanghai Gold Exchange reported a cumulative trading volume of 10,000 tons (two-way) for all gold products, up 2.6% year-on-year, with a trading value of 3.7 trillion yuan (two-way), up 5.2% year-on-year.