The National Iranian Copper Industries Company’s sales stood at 419,516 billion rials ($1.32 billion) from the beginning of the current Iranian year on March 21 to Sept. 17, registering a 19% year-on-year rise, according to the company’s CEO Ali Rostami.
He noted that NICICO produced 596,227 tons of copper concentrate during the period to register a 7% rise compared with last year’s corresponding period, Fars News Agency reported.
“While the global price of copper has dropped 25%, we are still 26% ahead of our strategic plans in terms of domestic and foreign sales. And despite frequent power outages and fluctuations in foreign currency rates, and the fact that NICICO implemented overhaul repairs of complexes in the fourth [June 22-July 22] and fifth [July 23-Aug. 22] months of the current year, we managed to achieve unique performance and unprecedented records,” he said.
NICICO is a leading copper producer in the Middle East and North Africa region and its mines hold close to 14% of Asia’s copper deposits and about 3% of global reserves.
The functions of this company include among others: To extract and operate copper mines and to produce high-grade copper products such as cathode, slab, billet and 8-mm wires.
Sarcheshmeh and Miduk in Kerman and Sungun in East Azarbaijan are among the most important copper mines of the country.
Iran holds about 4 billion tons of estimated copper reserves, according to the Geological Survey of Iran.
According to the United States Geological Survey, Iran holds the world's ninth largest copper reserves.
Sungun Complex is a subsidiary of NICICO and Khatam Al-Anbia is a major conglomerate in Iran. It is Iran’s largest copper mine with 1.5 billion tons of identified reserves.
The reserves of Sungun were estimated at 320 million tons three to four years ago, but currently they have risen to 2 billion tons, of which 1.3 billion tons are deemed “economically viable”, the former head of NICICO Ardeshir Sa’d-Mohammadi said earlier in 2022.
According to the Majlis Industries and Mines Commission, the value of Sungun copper mine reserves stands at $320 billion, equivalent to 10 years of Iran's exports.
At the current rate, copper extraction from the Sungun mine will last 380 years and even if the current annual production of 300,000 tons of concentrate triples, it will take 130 years to complete extraction from the mine reserves, it added.
Promising Future in World Economy
Thanks to the strategic importance of copper in the future of the world economy, investment in the industry has a bright outlook, Sa’d-Mohammadi has said.
"Presently, electricity accounts for 21% of world energy consumption. This share will increase to 51% in 2050 and the most important element in this strategy is copper,” he was quoted by IRNA as saying.
Copper is an industrial base metal essential for global growth because of its excellent electrical conductivity. It is vital for the transition to sustainable sources of energy to ensure a clean and green future, and for enabling digitalization, according to London-based research group Acuity Knowledge Partners.
“In the next 10 years, at least 35% of the world's vehicles will be electric, considering the average consumption of 4 kg of copper in ordinary vehicles and 89 kg in electric vehicles, we will see a change in demand for copper in cars in the near future,” said the NICICO chief.
Acuity Knowledge Partners estimates that EVs will generate additional copper demand of 1.5 million tons in 2025 and 3.3 million tons (forecast to be 10% of total demand) by 2030 versus less than 500 kilotons in 2020. The world’s biggest auto market, China, expects EVs to account for 60% of vehicle sales by 2035. The US expects them to account for 50% of vehicle sales by 2030. The number of EVs is forecast to reach 7 million by 2025, requiring 5 million charging ports to support them.
He noted that it is predicted that by 2035, 1.3 billion people will be added to the world's population and even with the current per capita consumption of copper, which is 3.2 kg, we will face an increasing demand for copper that year due to population growth.
The official also pointed to the increasing use of renewable energy in the world, which will be accompanied by an increase in copper consumption.
Sa’d-Mohammadi further referred to an annual investment of $4 trillion in infrastructure, including roads, airports, railroads and electricity, all of which require copper.
“In 2021, 98% of copper companies were profitable, so the outlook for this element will be quite logical and profitable.”
