The Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade has announced plans to invest $15 billion over the next five years for boosting its copper production.
Iran aims to raise the production of the strategic metal from the current level of 280,000 tons of copper cathodes per year to 1 million tons.
Minister of Industries, Mining and Trade Reza Fatimi-Amin has been quoted as saying by the ministry’s website that the investment plan would have a significant impact on the country’s copper exports.
Currently valued at $1.7 billion per year, the exports will see a dramatic jump to more than $10 billion, he added.
Accordingly, the projects aimed at boosting copper production by approximately 750,000 tons have already been launched this summer. These projects are expected to come on stream as per schedule during the course of the year.
The country has already started explorations in South Khorasan Province in eastern Iran, with more projects being undertaken in other provinces as well.
Iran is home to three major copper mines of Sarcheshmeh, Sungun and Miduk, which are operated by the National Iranian Copper Industry Company (NICICO) and have a combined reserve of around 3.4 billion tons.
The country has proven mineral reserves of around 37 billion tons and potential reserves of nearly 57 billion tons, Scrap Monster reported.
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: 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 new data released by Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization, NICICO earned 575.01 trillion rials ($1.42 billion) in sales during the first nine months of the current Iranian year (March 21-Dec. 21), 4% more than in the corresponding period of last year in rial terms. The sales volume stood at 789 trillion rials ($1.96 billion) in the last Iranian year (March 2021-22), up 89% compared to the year before.
Sungun, located in East Azarbaijan Province, is Iran’s largest copper mine with 1.5 billion tons of identified reserves.
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.
Sungun copper reserves 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.
Rise in Iran’s Copper Reserves Global Ranking
Iran’s standing rose to fifth place in terms of global ranking of copper reserves, the vice president for exploration and discovery of the National Iranian Copper Industries Company said recently, adding 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.
“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.
$980m Worth of Exports During 8 Months
Iran’s copper production chain registered $980 million in exports during the first eight months of the current Iranian year (March 21-Nov. 21), according to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Customs Administration.
The exports hit $132 million in the eighth month of the year (Oct. 23-Nov. 21), of which $58 million (or 44%) belonged to copper cathode.
“Investments of the private sector in the copper cathode and downstream industries are starting to bear fruit,” Amir Sabbagh, an IMIDRO official, was quoted as saying by IRIB News.
Copper sheet with an average price of $10,000 per ton, copper pipes with $7,892 per ton and copper wires with $7,824 per ton were among the copper products exported during the month under review with higher average price than copper cathode ($7,621 per ton), he 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, according to Sa’d-Mohammadi.
"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 the 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 electric vehicles 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 predicted that by 2035, 1.3 billion people will be added to the world's population and even at the current per capita consumption rate of copper, which is 3.2 kg, we will face 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 noted that $4 trillion will be invested annually 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 logical and profitable,” he said.
