Conference Spotlights Iran’s Non-Ferrous Metals Industries

The Fifth Iran Non-Ferrous Metals Industries Market & Related Technologies Conference & Expo opened at Tehran’s Olympic Hotel on May 10.
The two-day event, hosted by Donya-e-Eqtesad Media Group, is being held on the heels of the 13th Iranian Steel & Iron Ore Market Conference & Expo, also known as “ISMC 2023”, which concluded on Tuesday.
According to the Persian economic daily Donya-e-Eqtesad, topics discussed by industry officials, businesspeople and experts at the Fifth Iran Non-Ferrous Metals Industries Market & Related Technologies Conference include:
• Balancing the Non-Ferrous Metals Market and Studying the Perspectives of Production, Consumption and Export
• Stabilizing International Relations, 
• Revising Foreign Exchange and Export Policies, 
• Developing International Markets
• Regulating Domestic Supply and Demand of Non-Ferrous Metal
• Examining Development Plans for Non-Ferrous Metals Production
• Promoting Investment for the Revival of Small- and Medium-Size Mines
• Reviewing the Role of Innovative Technologies in the Development of Non-Ferrous Metals Exploration.
“Observing potential and available resources, and their optimized utilization is one of the requirements of development. Among metals industries, although the value added of products and alloys of non-ferrous metals industries such as copper, aluminum, lead, zinc and gold are high, they are not noteworthy. Therefore, they need more attention compared to previous years,” Donya-e-Eqtesad wrote in its report on its website.
“Considering long-term sanctions, these metal industries offer an ideal opportunity for exporting and absorbing foreign currencies. A remarkable example of this fact is export of copper products worth more than $981 million by factories and companies of the country from the beginning of April to the end of November.”
The report noted that given the necessity of focusing on these industries, the successful experience of holding the Iran Non-Ferrous Industries Market & Related Technologies Conference & Expo in the past four years and people’s feedback showing that the current content was useful, the Donya-e-Eqtesad Media Group as a business accelerator via professional networking, decided to hold the event for the fifth time.
On the other hand, the aim of creating a valuable opportunity for interaction between all those engaged in mining and mineral industries, improving business and facilitating economic activities in this field encouraged the Donya-e-Eqtesad Media Group to hold the two annual events, namely the Fifth Iran Non-Ferrous Metals Industries Market & Related Technologies Conference & Expo and the 13th Iranian Steel & Iron Ore Market Conference & Expo in  May 2023 on four consecutive days with the participation of experts and industry players.
“By attending this comprehensive event, participants and interested parties acquainted with the opportunities and challenges and the most up-to-date developments in these fields. The goal of holding this event is to create an opportunity for the government, the private sector and domestic and international entities to with the cooperation of all the parties concerned,” the report said.

Keynote Speakers

Ebrahim Jamili, the CEO of Zarrin Industrial and Mining Group and the first keynote speaker, elaborated on problems facing Iran’s non-ferrous metals industries.
These problems, according to Jamili, include the sale of unprocessed minerals, imposition of ad-hoc regulations by the government, lack of investment, electricity and gas outages in summer and winter, dearth of research and development, and the aging fleet of mining machinery in Iran.
“Last year, with the imposition of duties, we incurred heavy losses at a time when the Ukraine crisis created opportunities in new markets,” he said. 
“Due to the lack of support for investors in lead and zinc industries, they moved to invest in Turkey, where lead and zinc mines were operated through Iranian expertise and investment. Unless adequate attention is paid to local mines, Turkey will replace Iran as the main hub of lead and zinc raw material provision.”
The next speaker Keyvan Jafari Tehrani, a steel and iron ore market analyst, reviewed global non-ferrous metals markets and said demand for aluminum, nickel and zinc is expected to rise while copper and zinc are affected by global recession.
Mohammad Reza Pour-Ebrahimi, the head of Majlis Economic Commission, took the podium and spoke of the need to expand mineral explorations in Iran.
“Over the past 35 years, we were only able to explore 100,000 square kilometers of mineral zones out of 1.64 million square kilometers. The depth of explorations has also been very low,” he noted.  
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. 
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 held the seventh largest copper reserves in the world.
Andreas Filzwieser, CEO of Mettop, an independent Austrian engineering company specializing in the optimization and development of technologies in the field of metallurgical processes, was also a guest speaker. He elaborated on topics, such as green technologies, e-waste recycling and environmental issues.