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Basics |
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Future
Trends - Lead
Much of the
world's lead supply is mined together with zinc. Therefore, the future lead supply
will be influenced somewhat by the course of the zinc industry. The dominant factor
in the future of lead will be rate of growth and / or demand for the lead-acid
battery.
Similar to
the work occurring in the steel industry, direct lead production processes are
being developed. These processes employ differing furnace designs, methods of
heat input and process control. Although direct smelting processes (such as QSL
and Kivcet) have advantages compared to the traditional sinter - blast furnace
route, they still account for less than 1/3 of the primary lead production worldwide.
However, this has risen from only around 10% since 1992 and is likely to increase
further.
According to
the International Lead and Zinc Study Group (ILZSG), the global use of lead has
grown from just over 6.0 million tons in 1997 to nearly 6.8 million tons in 2000.
While continued growth is projected, the impact of China on the future market
is uncertain. China operates more smelters than all of the remaining world combined.
However, many of these sites are small. Other factors that will impact lead demand
is the switch from lead based solder. Further, the European Union will phase-out
lead solder use by 2008.
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