Close to 34,000 tons of coal concentrates were produced by Central Alborz and Tabas Parvardeh coal companies during the Iranian month starting March 20, indicating an 18% rise compared with the same period of last year.
The two companies, both of which are subsidiaries of Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization, produced 539,000 tons of coal concentrate in the last fiscal year (March 2015-16), IMIDRO reported on its website.
The Central Alborz region, which runs from west to east along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea, recently witnessed the discovery of more than 350 million tons of thermal and metallurgical coal deposits. Central Alborz Coal Company is to capitalize on the newfound reserves by establishing a new coal preparation plant with the washing capacity of 500,000 tons per year.
Coal preparation is the process of washing coal of soil and rock, crushing it into chunks and preparing it for transport to the market. The more waste is washed from the coal, the lower its total ash content and transportation costs, and the greater its market value will be.
Also, Tabas region in South Khorasan Province holds about 55-76% of Iran’s coal reserves, with an estimated proven coal reserve of 2.5 billion tons, including 1.1 billion tons of coking coal in Parvadeh region and 1.4 billion tons of thermal coal in Mazino area.
With the newly discovered deposits, Tabas Parvardeh Coal Company’s unprocessed coal and coal concentrate output capacities expand by 750,000 and 450,000 tons respectively, according to the company’s website.
