China's Western Mining buys zinc and indium for $13 mln

SHANGHAI, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Western Mining (601168.SS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), China's fourth-largest zinc miner, said on Monday it will buy zinc and indium ingots worth 93 million yuan ($13 million) from a zinc smelter in western China's Qinghai province.

Western Mining would buy 3,800 tonnes of zinc ingot and 5,618 kilograms of indium ingot from Qinghai Summit Zinc Co, a subsidiary of Shanghai-listed Tibet Summit Industry Co Ltd (600338.SS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

Western Mining said its zinc stocks at its Shanghai branch had been low due to strong demand in the market, and the purchase would guarantee the company held enough supplies to satisfy its long-term clients.

Power outages in the central province of Hunan triggered by freak snow last month had forced China's top zinc smelter, Zhuye, to shut all production for a week. [ID:nSHA307554]

Western Mining had agreed to buy zinc ingot for 19,650 yuan per tonne, and indium ingot for 3,300 yuan per kilogram, according to the company's statement.

Western Mining said the indium it purchased would be profitable in the future since the domestic prices had fallen by almost half from a year earlier to below production costs. ($1=7.178 Yuan) (Reporting by Rujun Shen; editing by Anne Marie Roantree)