Sungun Copper Complex produced 171,796 tons of 24.02%-purity copper concentrate during the first six months of the current fiscal year (March 21-Sept. 22), according to the CEO of the complex.
“The purity of the concentrate has increased by about 2% during the period,” Mabod Abbaszadeh was also quoted as saying by ILNA.
A total of 41,258 tons of copper concentrate were produced during the period, he added.
Sungun, located in East Azarbaijan Province, is Iran’s largest copper mine.
Iran’s standing rose to fifth place in terms of global ranking of copper reserves, the vice president for development and exploration of the National Iranian Copper Industries Company, said, noting that until recently, the country held the seventh largest copper reserves in the world.
“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.
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 the operation of copper mines and the extraction 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 noted 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 machinery and other common problems in the country's exploration field facing most companies, 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.
Rahmati said 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 concentrate production stands at 147,000 tons while 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 rials ($1.3 billion).
According to Rahmati, the company’s exports hit $1.6 billion in the last fiscal year (ended March 20, 2022), making NICICO the top non-oil exporter of Iran.
