Iran’s Aluminum Output Capacity to Rise by Over 60%

Iran’s aluminum production capacity will increase by more than 60% this Iranian year (started March 21, 2019) compared to last year, based on country’s Mine and Mining Industries Roadmap and the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade’s four-year plan (2018-21). According to statistics, the country’s aluminum production capacity reached 422,000 tons in 2017, and production amounted to 337,000 tons and in addition, the production of alumina powder hit 220,000 tons, IRNA reported on Friday. During last Iranian year (ended March 20, 2019), alumina powder production reached 229,000 tons, and production of aluminum ingots hit 385,000 tons.

The production of aluminum ingots for the current Iranian year is predicted to amount to 629,000 tons, marking a 244,000-ton increase compared to last year’s production. By launching the production plants of Southern Aluminum Complex (SALCO), the country’s aluminum production capacity will reach 775,000 tons by March 19.

The first phase of SALCO, as the largest aluminum smelter of Iran, is to open in southern Iran in the coming days as authorities seek to make up for losses in the sector over the past decades in domestic production of the metal.

IRNA said in a report that SALCO, located in the city of Lamerd at the southern tip of Fars Province near the Persian Gulf, will churn out 300,000 tons of aluminum in its first phase of production.
The smelter, one of the largest in the Middle East, will create 1,200 jobs and is planned to produce one million tons annually when it reaches full capacity, said the report.

Five Iranian banks have provided finances of more than US$1 billion for the first phase of the project, to which, the China Non-ferrous Metal Industry’s Foreign Engineering and Construction Co. (NFC) has also been contributing.

The project has been funded by the IMIDRO, Iran’s largest holding in mining and metals sector, and Ghadir Investment Company, where Iran’s Social Security Organization and pension funds related to the armed forces are the main shareholders.- Iran Daily