Yunnan’s monthly refined zinc output was about 75,000 tonnes, according to Antaike. China’s monthly output is around 600,000 tonnes.
LME zinc gained as much as 3.1% to $3,108.50 a tonne.
Click here for an interactive chart of zinc prices
Copper for delivery in July was up 0.35% midday Tuesday, with futures trading at $4.7270 per pound ($10,399 a tonne) on the Comex market in New York.
Lurking in the background are also concerns that major producers Peru and Chile will raise taxes on mining companies, potentially squeezing supply, Commerzbank analyst Daniel Briesemann told Reuters.
But he said industrial metals prices had overshot and would likely dip in the second half of the year, with zinc falling to around $2,600-$2,700 per tonne.
(With files from Reuters and Bloomberg)
