Iran’s copper cathode production in the first ten months (Mar 21, 2020-Jan 19, 2021) of the Iranian calendar stood at 231,000mt, up by 13pc from the prior-year period, according to media reports citing data released by the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (Imidro).
The country’s copper anode output in the Mar-Jan period grew by 19pc to 292,715mt as compared to the same period in the preceding year.
In the Mar-Jan period, the country’s copper concentrate output stood at 998,250mt, showing no significant difference in growth from the prior-year period.
Production in the tenth month
In the tenth month (Dec 21, 2020-Jan 19-2021) of the Iranian calendar, Iran produced 24,568 mt of copper cathode, registering a growth of 56pc from the same month in the year before, while its copper anode output in the same period rose by 41pc to 29,643mt as compared to the same month in the prior year.
The country’s copper concentrate output in the tenth month stood at 92,803mt, registering a decline of 9pc from the same month in the previous year.
Iran is expected to launch several new projects that will increase the annual copper concentrate capacity to 2.5mn mt The new projects are located in the provinces of Yazd, Ardabil, West Azerbaijan, and some areas of Sistan and Baluchestan which will become hubs for copper production in the future.
Iran holds around 4bn mt of proven copper reserves, as per media reports. The country is expecting its annual copper cathode output to surpass 280,000 mt by the end of the current Iranian year (March 2021).