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Earthquake aftershocks to Sichuan
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-05-26 11:32

Metallurgy

The 8.0-magnitude earthquake is also seriously affecting the Sichuan metallurgy industry, and in other quake-hit provinces due to damaged facilities, disrupted transportation and power outages.

At least 10 zinc smelters with a total capacity of 470,000 tons have been shut down in Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi.

The largest zinc smelter in Sichuan with an annual capacity of 80,000 tons, owned by Sichuan Hongda Co, has suspended production for at least half a month, according to Antaike, a non-ferrous metal research body.

Zinc production in Sichuan province accounts for 10 to 15 percent of China's annual amount.

As for aluminum, Sichuan Aostar Aluminum Co and Sichuan Guangyuan Aluminum Co, with a combined smelting capacity of 370,000 metric tons, also faces production curbs after the disaster.

Sichuan Aostar, the largest producer of the metal in the province, has only enough material stockpiles to feed its plant for 10 days, Tang Yan, an operational manager, says.

Transport on the main Baoji-Chengdu railway is disrupted, cutting a third of Aostar's monthly alumina supply of 22,000 tons for one of its two plants.

Despite of negative impacts, the demand for non-ferrous metals is expected to rise during the area's reconstruction stage, says Huang Anle, analyst of Guosen Securities.

Cement

In Chengdu, Deyang, Mianyang, Guangyuan, Ya'an and other quake-stricken cities in Sichuan province, buildings with more than 4.4 million rooms have collapsed, according to Xinhua. In some worst quake-hit areas, 80 percent to 90 percent of the buildings have been destroyed, and about 45,000 rooms in Gansu province and 30,000 rooms in Shaanxi province were also destroyed.

The demand for cement in the post-earthquake reconstruction is estimated at above 50 million tons, a China Merchants Securities' research note predicts, adding that the average cement consumption for residential buildings is between 200 to 300 km per sq m.

In 2007, the output of the cement industry in Sichuan and its neighboring provinces was 62 million tons and 140 million tons respectively, the report says. It estimates Sichuan and its neighboring provinces will have an increased cement production of 35 million tons this year, an amount which can hardly meet the potential demand.

To cater to the strong demand for cement, at least 22 new dry-kiln cement production lines with a capacity of 5,000 tons per day each need to be put into place.

According to a research note by Huatai Securities, there were 310 cement enterprises in Sichuan province by the end of 2007. And since the province had stepped up efforts to close out-of-date production facilities, the strong demand in the post-quake reconstruction will further add to the imbalance of the cement's supply and demand chain, and mean higher cement prices.

The post-quake reconstruction will also boost demands for other construction materials and machineries.