National Iranian Copper Industries Company and its subsidiaries, including Sungun, Miduk and Sarcheshmeh copper complexes, produced an aggregate of 1.17 million tons of copper concentrate in the last Iranian year (ended March 19, 2020), remaining unchanged compared to the year before.
Production in the month ending March 19 stood at 85,174 tons, going down 5% year-on-year, the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization’s latest report shows.
A total of 304,446 tons of copper anode were produced during the year under review, down 3% YOY.
Copper anode production during the month stood at 30,196 tons, up 10% YOY.
The production of copper cathode amounted to 250,130 tons during the year, up 1% YOY.
Copper cathode output during the month reached 25,799 tons, going up by 8% YOY.
A total of 8,211 tons of molybdenum were produced during the year, which indicates a 20% increase YOY.
Molybdenum output during the month to March 19 totaled 535 tons, up by 5% YOY.
According to the United States Geological Survey, Iran holds the world's ninth largest copper reserves.
Iran holds about 4 billion tons of estimated copper reserves, according to the Geological Survey of Iran.
“With an annual production of 34.5 million tons, Iran is currently the world’s eighth biggest copper producer in the world,” says Managing Director of National Iranian Copper Industries Company Ardeshir Sa'd-Mohammadi, adding that with the development of mineral explorations, the country will soon ascend to the seventh rank.
According to NICICO chief, Iran’s copper reserves make up 4.15% of the global copper reserves, Fars News Agency reported.
Iran's major Sungun Copper Mine’s reserves exceed 1.2 billion tons while that of Miduk Copper Mine surpass 500 million tons.
He noted that the copper industry has a 50-million-ton share in Iran's annual mineral output.
Taking into account the development of copper mines of Der Alo Copper Mine, Darezar Copper Mine and Khatunabad (all three in Kerman Province) as well as new explorations, Sa'd-Mohammadi believes the country’s copper reserves will at least last for the next 100 years.
Exports of copper and downstream products in the fiscal 2019-20 stood at 365,070 tons worth $917.53 million, down by 52% in tonnage and up by 13% in value YOY.
Copper and downstream products’ imports stood at 1,870 tons worth $17.42 million, indicating a 93.3% and 90.7% decrease in tonnage and value respectively YOY.
Copper and downstream products were the third major mineral commodity on the list of the country’s mineral trade.
On July 3, 1972, Kerman Sarcheshmeh Copper Mines Company was incorporated and renamed National Iranian Copper Industries Company in 1976, which encompasses all the operations of copper mines in the country.
The company extracts and operates copper mines and produces high-grade ore and copper products such as cathode, slab, billet and 8-mm wires. Among the most important copper mines of the country, one may name: Sarcheshmeh and Miduk in Kerman, and Sungun in East Azarbaijan.
NICICO Sales, Exports Hit Record Highs
The National Iranian Copper Industries Company’s sales totaled a record high of 227 trillion rials ($1.4 billion) in the last fiscal year to witness a staggering rise of 127% compared to the year before.
According Sa'd-Mohammadi, the company’s domestic sales accounted for over 110 billion rials ($687,500) of the total sum and the rest ($722 million) pertained to exports.
He noted that both earnings from exports and domestic sales registered all-time highs, ISNA reported.
The value of exports was twice that of the preceding year, he added.
"NICICO produced more than 1.18 million tons of copper concentrates last year, which is also a record high," Sa'd-Mohammadi said.
The company also produced 250,133 tons of copper cathode during the period, which is also an all-time high.
Describing the volume of last year's sales as a milestone in the 48-year-history of the company, Mohammad Aqajanlou, a senior official with Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization, said the total turnover of Iranian copper industry exceeded $4.5 billion last year and NICICO posted a return on investment of 143%.
He added that copper cathode accounted for more than two-thirds of total domestic consumption for pure copper, which was over 160,000 tons last year.
"This means copper concentrate, a relatively raw form of the metal, accounted for the bulk of Iran’s exports, which issue has faced criticism, with many believing that NICICO should create more capacity for using copper concentrate inside Iran rather than shipping it in large quantities to countries like China,” he said.
Aqajanlou rejected the criticism and said the current supply and demand situation in the Iranian copper industry makes exports of concentrates more preferable.
20% of Turkey's Copper Market Targeted
Iran is hopeful of meeting one-fifth of Turkey’s need for copper within the next two years by increasing investment in mining and production of the precious metal in its northwestern province of East Azarbaijan.
Around $1 billion have already been invested in the mining and production of copper in East Azarbaijan (a center of industry and business near the Iranian-Turkish border), the NICICO chief said in November 2019.
The official noted that the investment plans were aimed at allowing Iran to raise its share of copper exports to Turkey that he said is importing 500,000 tons of copper cathode from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan every year.
Sa'd-Mohammadi noted that the main copper projects introduced in the region included a smelter, a refinery and a third phase of concentrate production at the sprawling Sungun Mine, the largest open-cast copper mine in Iran located 150 kilometers from the provincial capital of Tabriz, Iran’s sixth largest city.
