National zinc overview between 2010 and 2014
Zinc is a chemical element represented symbol Zn, atomic number 30, with atomic mass 65.4, found in nature with the largest reserves being found in Australia and China with Brazil having an almost negligible reserve. Zinc can also be found in the form of sulfides and oxides, associated with lead, copper, silver and iron. Brazilian zinc production from 2010 to 2014 was 895 (10³t). This article aims to present the world zinc reserve between 2010 and 2014, in addition to brazilian production, import, export and domestic consumption and its price in the market between 2010 and 2014. The research was carried out by accessing the website of the National Department of Mineral Production – DNPM (http://www.dnpm.gov.br/). In the world zinc reserves, Australia had the highest average, followed by China, Peru and Mexico, brazil had the lowest average among the countries. In Brazilian zinc production, we observed a steady decrease growing again in 2014. On the other year, imports remained unstable and in exports there was a large decrease. The consumption of concentrate in Brazil decreases and due to the economic crisis the consumption of the primary metal remained unstable. The price of zinc between 2010 and 2014 remained unstable due to factors such as world production and the world financial market.