Lead: Uses that go back over 5,000 years

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: What are the general characteristics of lead and what are its uses?

Lead is a dense, corrosion-resistant, bluish-grey metallic element, and is the heaviest stable element. Lead was one of the first known metals and has been used for at least 5,000 years. The early uses of lead included building materials, pigments for glazing ceramics and pipes for transporting water. Today's major use of lead is in lead-acid storage batteries. The electrical systems of vehicles, ships, and aircraft depend on such batteries for startup, and, in some cases, batteries provide the actual motive power. It is also for soundproofing in office buildings, schools, and hotels. It is widely used in hospitals to block X-ray and gamma radiation and is employed to shield against nuclear radiation in permanent installations and when nuclear material is being transported.

What is the annual world production of lead?

World smelter production of lead (both primary and secondary) is around 7 million metric tonne per annum. More than half of the lead currently used comes from recycling.

Which countries are the major producers of lead? Which nations are the major consumers?

China (with 23% of world production), followed by the United States ( 20%), Germany ( 5%), and the United Kingdom ( 5%) are the world's largest smelter producers of lead (both primary and secondary ) The United States, Japan, China, European Union and India are the major consumers.

What is the market scenario for lead in India?

Lead production in India hovers around 82,000 tonne. The lack of lead ore reserves in the country necessitates large-scale imports and recycling. While 16% of the total lead supply in India is contributed by major producers like Sterlite Industries (India) Ltd, the smelters in the organised sector contribute to around 22% of the total supply and 42% is contributed by the unorganised sector battery market . The rest is imported from countries like China (54%), the Republic of Korea (15%) and Australia (10%).

What factors influence the demand and supply of lead?

Some of the factors influencing the demand and supply of lead include changes in the inventory level at LME warehouses, the economic growth rate of major consuming countries, global growth and demand in major consuming industries, prices of alternative metals and participation of funds

Which international trading centre trades in lead?