Over 91,000 tons of copper cathode produced in 4 months

Production of copper cathode stood at over 91,000 tons in Iran during the first four months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-July 21), IRNA reported.

As reported, copper cathode output in the four-month period of this year has been just one percent more than that of the previous year.

The highest growth of production in the mentioned period has been registered for Meydouk Complex in the central Kerman province, as the complex produced 31,822 tons of copper cathode, which was 10 percent higher than the figure of the same time span in the past year.

In early May, four development projects worth 40 trillion rials (about $952.3 million) were inaugurated in the copper sector of Kerman Province in the southeast of Iran.

President Hassan Rouhani put the projects into operation through video conference.

The projects inaugurated in Khatoon Abad Copper Complex included increasing the capacity of copper smelting in the complex, building a copper concentrate storage, construction of a sulfuric acid production plant, and an oxygen supplying unit.

Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO)’s Managing Director Khodadad Gharibpour was present in the inaugural ceremony of the projects.

By putting the first project into operation, the complex’s capacity for producing copper anode rises by 50 percent to 120,000 tons, and the country’s copper smelting capacity rose to 400,000 tons. This project creates jobs for 120 persons.

Some 1.11 trillion rials (about $26.4 million) plus $118 million have been invested for this project.

The second project, which was the construction of a 60,000-ton storage facility, was implemented at the cost of 158 billion rials (about $3.7 million) plus three million euros, creating jobs for 250 people.

The third project is valued at 750 billion rials (about $17.8 million) plus 100 million euros and the fourth one was put into operation at the cost of 192 billion rials (about $4.5 million) plus 31 million euros.

Iran has seen its copper exports doubled in the past Iranian calendar year (ended on March 19) despite a series of bitter sanctions imposed by the United States aimed at hampering the Islamic Republic’s trade of lucrative metals.

source: TehranTimes