The Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) says the country will present its investment opportunities in the copper sector during the 14th World Copper Conference due to be held April 13-15 in Chile, IRNA reported.
Based on an IMIDRO report, the National Iranian Copper Industries Company, as the country’s major company responsible for extraction and utilization of copper mines, will represent the country in the three-day international event in Santiago.
More than 500 international companies and the global players in the copper industry as well as miners, exporters, machinery manufacturers, and contractors will attend the conference in the Latin American country. This year’s conference will focus on the solutions that the industry must find to the long-term challenges of ensuring adequate and affordable supply and mitigating the risk of further price fluctuations.
Global copper prices have been subject to strong fluctuations during the past few years where prices skyrocketed from $1,500 per metric ton in 2002 to more than $10,000 in 2012.
Every ton of copper currently costs $5,500 amid production surplus and significant decline in China’s demand following the country’s dented economic growth.
Iran produced more than 728,000 tons of copper concentrate during the first 11 months of the past Iranian calendar year (ended March 20), which indicates 1% growth compared to the similar period a year earlier. Iran holds some 5% of the global copper reserves while it produces only 1% of the world’s copper.
Based on official reports, the current capacity for the downstream copper industry including copper wire, copper sections, and copper tubes is 940,000 metric tons. Meanwhile, efficiency in the sector is as low as 20% due to low consumption in the country.
