New Smelter to Increase Aluminum Output by 70%

Iran is on track to launch a new aluminum smelter early next year that would boost the country’s output by 70%, making it self-sufficient in the metal by taking advantage of its rich natural gas reserves.
“Construction is underway at the South Aluminum Corp [Salco] smelter  to produce 300,000 tons per year in the first phase,” Mehdi Karbasian, deputy minister of industries, mining and trade, told the CRU Aluminium Conference in London on Tuesday.
Karbasian is also chairman of IMIDRO, the state-owned Iranian Mines and Mining, Industries, Development and Renovation Organization, which owns 49% of Salco. Iran’s Ghadir Investment Company owns 51%, Reuters reported.
“While Iran currently produces about 400,000 tons per year of aluminum, consumption is around 600,000 to 700,000 tons,” said Amir Mirchi, managing director of Canadian consultancy Auryce, which is advising Salco.
Salco is being built in the Lamerd Special Economic Zone in southern Iran near the Persian Gulf where a deepwater port is also being constructed.
The $1.2 billion Salco facility is being built by China Nonferrous Metal Industry’s Foreign Engineering & Construction Company, or NFC.