TEHRAN (Iran News) – Aluminum ingot production by the companies in Iran witnessed a 47 percent growth during the first month of the current calendar year (March 20-April 19), compared to the figure for the same period last year.
During the 31-day period to April 19, the country produced 30,030 tons of aluminum ingots, according to the statistics released by the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO), IRNA reported.
Production of aluminum ingot in Iran is planned to increase by 63 percent by the end of the current year (March 20, 2021) to hit 450,000 tons.
Iran’s major companies produced 275,716 tons of aluminum ingots in the year to March 2020, according to the data released by the Industry, Mine and Trade Ministry.
On April 22, Iran’s former industry minister, Reza Rahmani, said aluminum production would jump in the year ahead with the opening of the South Aluminum Corporation (SALCO), the country’s largest aluminum smelter in the southern province of Fars.
“The aforementioned project has been completed in the city of Lamerd in Fars Province with a production capacity of 300,000 tons (a year) and around $1.2 billion in investment,” said Rahmani, adding once SALCO becomes fully operational, Iran’s total annual aluminum production capacity would reach 785,000 tons.
He added that SALCO is the only aluminum plant in Iran benefitting from all components of the aluminum production chain – including smelter, anode making, and storage facilities – in one single location.
Rahmani said an exclusive port terminal on the Persian Gulf provides the plant with services for exporting its products, adding the construction of the terminal had cost the government more than $170 million.
SALCO is jointly owned by the IMIDRO, Iran’s government-run holding for mining and metals, and Ghadir Investment Company, where the main shareholders are Iran’s Social Security Organization and pension funds related to the country’s Armed Forces.
- source : Iran Daily, Irannews
