Lead, zinc

    THE domestic lead and zinc market may be affected by the earthquake in Ludian County in Yunnan Province because of the disruption to transport and suspension of some mining operations, analysts said Tuesday.

    “It is difficult to give an exact estimate at the moment, because zinc miners and smelters are out of reach for now, but it has raised some concerns regarding the market because lead and zinc deliveries have been hindered by the earthquake,” said Bian Binbin, an expert specializing in lead and zinc.

    Yunnan Province is a major production base for copper, lead and zinc, and the city of Zhaotong has an explored reserve of lead and zinc of about 1.6 million metric tons. Its reserve for coal hits 16.6 billion metric tons.

    Car recall

    MERCEDES-BENZ will recall 57,843 vehicles on the Chinese mainland due to risks associated with short circuits, the country’s quality watchdog said Tuesday.

    The recall involves imported petrol-powered Smart Fortwo produced between Oct. 5, 2010 and June 2, 2014, according to the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. The recall will start Aug. 22.

    Solar power target

    CHINA’S central energy authority unveiled Tuesday its photovoltaic development targets for 2014, vowing to install 13 gigawatts of new PV power capacity this year.

    The target is more ambitious than the State Council’s guideline released in July 2013, which outlined plans to install 10 gigawatts of PV power capacity every year from 2013 to 2015.