The 19th International Exhibition of Metallurgy, Steel, Mining, Forging, Machining, Molding and Casting, also known as "Iran METAFO”, is scheduled to be held at Tehran’s International Fairground from Nov. 30 to Dec. 3.
Around 400 Iranian and 50 foreign companies are expected to participate in the four-day event to showcase their latest products and services, IRIB News reported.
"Iran METAFO” is the biggest event of its kind in the Middle East and its aim is to connect Iranian businesses with their foreign counterparts, introduce them to providers of raw materials, and present opportunities for attracting investors and signing cooperation agreements.
The exhibition will be open to public visitors every day from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Mineral Riches
Iran is home to 81 types of minerals with reserves totaling 37-40 billion tons, according to 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 added.
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.
Notably, 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 recently, adding that until recently, the country had 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.
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.
“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.
H1 Mining Exports at $5.6 Billion
Iran’s mining industry exported a total of 21.15 million tons of products worth $5.62 billion during the first half of the current fiscal year (March 21-Sept. 22) to register an 8% decrease in tonnage and a 6% decline in value year-on-year, according to the Iranian Mines & Mining Industries Development & Renovation.
Steel manufacturing chain products (iron ore, semi-finished and finished steel) topped the list of exports in terms of value with an aggregate of $2.58 billion, accounting for 45.9% of total exports in this field.
Iran exported steel to 56 countries during the first half of the current Iranian year (March 21-Sept. 22), an IMIDRO official, Amir Sabbagh, said, adding that Iraq accounted for about one-fifth of the total shipments.
“Indonesia with 15.3%, China with 15.1%, Thailand with 9.4%, Oman with 8.1%, UAE with 7.8%, Turkey with 4.6% and Ghana with 2.9% were other major steel export destinations during the period,” he was quoted as saying by IRNA.
Sabbagh noted that steel exports had an upward trend for the second consecutive month to reach 767,000 tons in the sixth month of the current Iranian year (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — the highest volume of steel exports in the past two years.
“Nonetheless, global steel prices are under the pressure of Russia and the drop in China's demand. It is possible that the government will reestablish steel exports tax exemptions, which have been limited in the Budget Law of 1401 [Iranian year from March 2022 to 2023], in the form of resolutions or a special bill,” he said.
World’s 10th Biggest Crude Steel Producer
Iranian steel mills produced a total of 22.2 million tons of crude steel during from the beginning of this year to the end of September, registering a 9.8% rise compared with the corresponding period of 2021, the World Steel Association said in its latest report.
The report also shows Iran's September output hit 2.7 million tons, registering a 26.7% year-on-year rise.
In terms of world ranking, Iran maintained its global standing as the world’s 10th biggest crude steelmaker.
China was the world’s largest producer during the nine-month period with 780.8 million tons of steel output, down 3.4% YOY. It was followed by India with 93.3 million tons (up 6.4%), Japan with 67.8 million tons (down 6%), the United States with 61.5 million tons (down 4.3%), Russia with 54.6 million tons (down 6%), South Korea with 50.5 million tons (down 4.4%), Germany with 28.2 million tons (down 6%) and Turkey with 25.9 million tons (down 5.3%).
Iran is placed after Brazil (ninth) with 25.9 million tons (down 5.3% YOY).
The world’s 64 steelmakers produced 1.4 billion tons of steel in the nine months under review, down 4.3% YOY. Countries located in Asia and Oceania collectively produced 1.03 billion tons of the total.
The Middle East produced 32.3 million tons of crude steel during the period, posting an increase of 7.9% compared with the same period of last year.
Crude steel is defined as steel in its first solid (or usable) form: ingots and semi-finished products (billets, blooms and slabs). This is not to be confused with liquid steel, which is steel poured.
The World Steel Association is one of the largest and most dynamic industrial associations, with members in every major steel-producing country.
The 64 countries included in the Worldsteel report produce 85% of global steel. These steelmakers produced 1.91 billion tons of steel last year, up 3.6% YOY.
Iranian steel mills produced a total of 28.5 million tons of crude steel in 2021, registering a 1.8% decline compared with 2020.
MSC is the biggest steelmaker in Iran and the Middle East and North Africa region, accounting for about half of the country's steel production.
