The Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade's review of the current Iranian year’s first eight months (March 21-Nov. 21) shows the output of five mineral products (out of 12 under review) registered growth compared with the similar period of last year.
A total of 360,000 tons of pure aluminum ingots were produced during the period, up 24.8% compared with the corresponding period of last year.
Sheet glass production rose by 19.6% YOY to 884,400 tons.
The production of porcelain dishes increased by 12.8% YOY to 40,500 tons while the production of copper cathode stood at 2.02 million tons, registering a YOY increase of 6.2%.
Tile and ceramic output hit 301.18 million square meters, experiencing a 3.7% YOY increase.
The output of the following products declined during the period: Sanitary ware output hit 65,900 tons, down 16.5%, coal concentrate production was at 941,700 tons, down 12% YOY, cement and steel products stood at 43.33 million tons and 16.6 million tons respectively, down 10.6% and 7.5% respectively YOY, crude steel production hit 18.69 million tons, indicating a 2.7% decrease year-on-year, and that of alumina dipped by 0.9% to 155,500 tons. Also, the output of glass dishes exceeded 481,100 tons, showing a YOY decrease of 0.3%.
Monthly Review
A monthly review of the ministry shows the output of six mineral products (out of 12 under review) registered growth in the eighth month of the current fiscal year (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) compared to the preceding month.
Coal concentrate production registered a 35.1% MOM increase to about 125,100 tons. Pure aluminum ingots’ production stood at 47,800 tons during the period, up 6.4% month-on-month.
Steel products’ output stood at 2.27 million tons and, up 4.4%, while porcelain dishes’ output reached 5,300 tons, up by 4.1% MOM. Tile and ceramic output hit 40.05 million square meters, registering a 1.5% MOM increase. The production of copper cathode reached 25,700 tons, up 0.3% month-on-month.
The output of the following products declined during the month: Sheet glass production declined by 8.6% to reach 108,000 tons.
Alumina output hit 19,100 tons, registering a month-on-month decline of 6.5%, while that of glass dishes and sanitary ware each declined by 5.4% MOM to reach 56,700 tons and 7,900 tons during the period.
Cement output decreased by 3.3% MOM to 5.28 million tons and crude steel production hit 2.77 million tons, indicating a 0.4% decline compared with the previous month.
Mineral Diversity, Reserves
Iran is home to 81 types of minerals with reserves totaling 37-40 billion tons, said Alireza Shahidi, the head of Geological Survey and Mineral Exploration of Iran.
“Construction materials, including gravel, rubble stones, sand and different types of stones, account for 62% of Iran’s mineral reserves, metal minerals constitute 10-15% of total reserves and the rest are non-metallic minerals,” he said.
“Gold reserves are increasing on a daily basis. Recently, new mines have been identified in South Khorasan Province, the reserves of which, we hope, should help increase the country’s mineral wealth to 100 billion tons.”
Shahidi noted that up until 2015, the level of exploration and investment was in tandem, but now a wide gap has opened up between the two, suggesting that the costs of exploration are on the rise, IRNA reported.
He added that a total of 945,000 square kilometers in Iran underwent exploration operations in the 2000s.
“The country’s mines are mostly close to the surface; [the exploitation of] hidden mineral reserves in the depths of the earth need to increase,” he said.
According to the United States Geological Survey, Iran holds the world's largest zinc, ninth largest copper, 10th largest iron ore, fifth largest gypsum and barite, and 10th largest uranium reserves.
Overall, Iran is home to more than 7% of global mineral reserves.
