The top five zinc smelting companies, a comparison of competitiveness

The major zinc smelting companies differ significantly in terms of size, facility type, location, power source and cost, and whether they are integrated or rely on the custom market for concentrate feed. These factors have an impact on the smelters’ cost competitiveness. This insight examines the production profiles, CO2 emissions and operating costs of the top five zinc smelting companies. Zinc production from the top five zinc producers accounts for 32% of the global output and is estimated to have fallen by 6.5% in 2022.