Fire hits acid plant at S. Korean zinc smelter, report says

A fire broke out in a sulphuric acid production unit at a South Korean zinc smelter on Thursday, the Maeil Business newspaper reported.

The blaze at Young Poong’s Seokpo smelter in North Gyeongsang province was extinguished around an hour after it started at 12:36 local time (03:36 GMT), the report said, adding that there had been no casualties or toxic gas leaks.

The Seokpo smelter has capacity to produce 400,000 metric tons per year of zinc ingots, according to its website, although its recent production status is unclear.

Prices of zinc, used to galvanize steel, rose as much as 3.4% on the London Metal Exchange on Thursday to $3,638 per metric ton, the highest since June 19 and within striking distance of a four-year peak.

Sulphuric acid, a byproduct of the smelting process that is used to make refined copper, nickel and fertilizers, has become a highly sought-after commodity in recent months as the war in the Middle East crimps supplies.

Young Poong was not immediately available for comment outside regular business hours.

(By Tom Daly and Heekyong Yang; Editing by Susan Fenton)