Huge Gap Between Iron Ore Supply, Demand in Iran

Iran’s iron ore production currently exceeds domestic demand by about 12 million tons, said the chairman of Iron Ore Producers and Exporters Association, Qadir Qiafeh. The IROPEX forecasts that the Iranian steel industry’s demand for iron ore will not exceed 30 million tons in the next fiscal year (March 2017-18). This is while domestic production of iron ore stood at 42 million tons last year, Minews reported. According to the official, most of Iran’s iron ore mines have gone out of business, as a result of the glut in the domestic market. Qiafeh said only 19 mines are currently operational. Iran holds about 5.2 billion tons of estimated and 2.8 billion of proven iron ore reserves. There are 156 mines across the country.