Production and consumption statistics of lead and zinc

The International Lead and Zinc Study Group (ILZSG) was established in 1959 by the United Nations with three main objectives: to provide a platform for consultation among governments regarding international trade of lead and zinc; to ensure a sustainable supply of information on lead and zinc resources and consumption; and to propose solutions for addressing imbalances related to these two metals, which—after aluminum and copper—are among the most widely used non-ferrous metals. As shown in the following statistics, one of the main outputs of this group is relatively up-to-date data on global lead and zinc supply and consumption compared to previous years. An important point in these statistics is that, due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in the past two to three years, both production and consumption declined slightly from their peak in 2019. However, with the easing of this crisis, it is expected that production and consumption will resume their upward trend in the coming years.