After preliminary mining excavations, pilot production of antimony ingots has been launched in Sefidabeh Antimony Complex, the country’s first antimony manufacturing facility located in the southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan Province.
Sefidabeh Antimony Complex was constructed with an investment of 60 billion rials ($1.8 billion at market exchange rate) and is expected to produce 90,000 tons of ingots annually, IRNA reported.
The complex has created 20 direct and 40 indirect employment opportunities.
Sistan-Baluchestan Province reportedly holds 10% of the world’s antimony reserves. As many as 16 antimony deposits have so far been explored in the province with at least 200,000 tons of estimated reserves. The latest explorations in Sefidabeh region show that the county has at least 35,000 tons of proven antimony reserves.
Antimony is a chemical element used in electronics and other industries, while its most important usage is as base metal in producing ordinary and hybrid batteries. Antimony is also used for making anti-corrosion alloys. An emerging application is the use of antimony in microelectronics.
China is the world’s leading antimony producer with annual production of 140,000 tons, far surpassing Russia with 3,500 tons and Bolivia with 3,000 tons of annual production. Total global antimony reserves are estimated at 2 million tons. Every ton of antimony ingots is now priced at $9,700 while one ton of the ore is sold at around $913.
