Iran’s world ranking rose to fifth in terms of copper reserves, says the National Iranian Copper Industries Company’s vice president for development and discovery, noting that until recently, the country was placed at seventh place.
“With recent discoveries in Sungun and the addition of 1 billion tons of new reserves to the mine in East Azarbaijan Province, as well as the discovery of new reserves in other mines of the company, including Sarcheshmeh, Miduk and a new mine near Sarcheshmeh in Kerman Province, the volume of the company's copper reserves has increased from 18 billion tons to 19 billion tons,” Behrouz Rahmati was also quoted as saying by Fars News Agency.
Sungun Complex, located in East Azarbaijan Province, is Iran’s largest copper mine.
Sarcheshmeh Copper Complex is the world’s second largest open cast copper mine located in Kerman Province. It also contains substantial amounts of molybdenum, gold and other rare metals.
The complex is located 65 km southwest of Kerman and 50 km south of Rafsanjan. Sarcheshmeh ore bodies, situated in the central part of Zagros ranges, consist of folded and faulted early tertiary volcano-sedimentary rocks.
Production units of Sarcheshmeh Copper Complex involve the mine itself, concentrator, smelter, refinery, foundries and leaching.
NICICO is a leading copper producer in the Middle East and North Africa region.
The functions of NICICO include, among others, extraction and operation of copper mines, as well as production of high-grade copper products such as cathode, slab, billet and 8-mm wires.
“According to the United States Geological Survey’s latest report, following these explorations, the ranking of our country has risen to fifth place after Chile, Australia, Peru and Russia,” Rahmati said.
He added that since the beginning of the current Iranian year (March 2022), NICICO has drilled more than 76,000 meters in exploration operations.
“By the end of the current year [March 2023], we will have set a record in exploratory drilling discoveries, and it is predicted that despite the problems caused by the wear and tear of Iranian drilling fleet and other common problems facing most companies in the country's exploration field, between 150,000 and 200,000 meters of drilling will be accomplished this year,” he said.
The volume of NICICO’s exploratory drilling stood at 130,000 meters in the last Iranian year.
The official announced that the company has also set a record with 728 meters in daily exploratory drilling.
NICICO has produced 615,000 tons of copper concentrate so far this year, registering a 9,000 ton-rise year-on-year, he added.
Copper cathode output has hit 143,300.
The copper content production stands at 147,000 tons.
Sulfuric acid production stands at a record high of 451,000 tons.
He noted that despite the 25% decrease in global copper prices, NICICO’s copper sales have increased by 20% to 430 trillion ($1.3 billion) rials.
According to Rahmati, the company’s exports hit $1.6 billion in the last fiscal year (ended March 20) and NICICO is the record holder in terms of Iran’s non-oil exports.
Promising Future in World Economy
Thanks to the strategic importance of copper in the future, investment in the industry has a bright outlook, the former head of NICICO, Ardeshir Sa’d-Mohammadi, said earlier in 2022.
"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 as saying by IRNA.
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,” NICICO’s ex-chief said.
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.
Sa’d-Mohammadi said 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, the world will face an increasing demand for copper that year due to population growth.
The ex-official pointed to the increasing use of renewable energy in the world and said this will be accompanied by an increase in copper consumption.
He referred to the 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.”
