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Zinc
Zinc is one of the older metals, although for many years it was mainy used as an alloying metal with copper to form brass. Brass is a large market especially in the construction and building supplies sectors, however, zinc is now primarily used to galvanise steel and in zinc die-casting.
Applications
Galvanised steel is used extensively in construction and engineering, in roadside crash barriers, wire fencing, corregated iron, street signs and in the manufacturing of white goods. Galvanised steel is also used in the auto industry to increase the corrosion resistance of cars, trucks and trailers. The engineering industry also uses zinc pressure die casting to produce thousands of componenets for cars, household items and industry in general. These range from carburettors, casing, water pumps, mouldings, the side and back panels of washing machine, cooker etc. Zinc sheet is used in some countries for roofing, guttering and general weather-proofing.
Zinc demand
Zinc demand growth in the western world is relatively quiet and any turn down in the construction and auto industries is likely to depress western demand further. However, asia and especially China have seen a marked pick up in demand and with China increasing its infrastructure building, zinc demand is likely to grow strongly for many years to come.
Supply
Zinc production, starts with the mining of bulk ores, which often contain a mixture of lead, zinc and silver. Zinc concentrates can then be smelted to about 98% purity, which is acceptible for some general galvanising, but demand for higher purity zinc, as traded on the LME, now means that most zinc is produced electrolytically, to produce High Grade and Special high Grade zinc, with purities of 99.95% and 99.99% respectively - the latter being the benchmark grade for LME contracts.
Zinc is produced extensively in North and South America, Asia, Australia and in Europe. This wide base of producers, combined with the industries' low level of integration between miners and smelters, means the industry has often been slow to react to poor market conditions. In the past, this has led to long periods of over production with producers reluctant to make significant production cutbacks to keep supply and demand in balance. As a result, zinc stocks tend to build up significantly during economic slowdowns and during economic recoveries zinc prices often lag behind the other base metals, while its high levels of stocks are drawdown.
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