A titanium project is scheduled to become operational in the second half of the current Iranian year (starting Sept. 22, 2016), the head of Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization has announced.
“The project, located in Kahnouj county of Kerman Province and worth over $140 million, is scheduled to produce 130,000 tons of titanium concentrate and 70,000 tons of titanium slag (dioxide titanium) per year,” says Mehdi Karbasian, who is also deputy minister of industries, mining and trade.
The official added that a titanium pigment (used in paint, sunscreens, food colorings, etc.) production line with a capacity of 50,000 tons per year will also be established in the plant, IMIDRO reported on its website.
Furthermore, a 1,000-megawatt power plant in Kahnouj is also expected to be built by the end of September to provide electricity to the plant.
According to Karbasian, Kahnouj Titanium Mine is going to provide the plant with feedstock. The mine holds over 160 million tons of proven titanium reserves while the potential reserves are estimated at close to 400 million tons, making it the biggest titanium mine in the country.
IMIDRO will procure part of the funding for the titanium project by selling over $94 million worth of Musharakah bonds–an Islamic mode of finance in which capital is provided by two or more parties for project development.
Titanium can be alloyed with iron, aluminum, vanadium and molybdenum, among other elements, to produce strong, lightweight alloys for aerospace, military, chemical and petrochemical, automotive, agriculture and healthcare industries.
