NICICO Sales Rise 72% to $900m

EghtesadOnline: The National Iranian Copper Industries Company's sales reached 230.85 trillion rials ($900 million) in the first eight months of the current Iranian year (March 20-Nov. 21), said the company’s managing director, adding that the figure indicates a 72% increase compared with the same period of last year.

News ID: ۷۵۱۶۵۰

06 December 2020

“The company’s total sales during the last fiscal year amounted to 227 trillion rials,” Ardeshir Sa'd-Mohammadi was also quoted as saying by ILNA.

NICICO is a leading copper producer in the Middle East and North Africa region and its mines hold close to 14% of Asia’s copper deposits and 3% of global reserves.

The functions of this company include, among others: To extract and operate copper mines and produce high-grade copper products such as cathode, slab, billet and 8-mm wires.

Sarcheshmeh and Miduk in Kerman, and Sungun in East Azarbaijan are among the most important copper mines of the country.

According to Sa'd-Mohammadi, NICICO and its subsidiaries, namely Sungun Complex, Miduk Complex and Sarcheshmeh Copper Complex, produced a total of 804,479 tons of copper concentrate during the eight months under review.

“The volume is 4% higher than the corresponding period of last year,” he added.

A total of 235,400 tons of copper anode were produced during the eight months, which indicate a 16% growth year-on-year.

The production of copper cathode hit 183,300 tons in the eight-month period, up 6% YOY.

“The giant also carried out 61,512 meters of deep explorations in copper ore mines in the first eight months of the current Iranian year, which is the highest in the past seven years,” said Behrouz Rahmati, the company’s deputy for exploration.

According to the company’s officials, the company is planning to increase its capital from 101.400 trillion rials to 200 trillion rials, marking a 97% increase in the coming weeks.

“The copper giant currently has more than one million shareholders,” Sa'd-Mohammadi said.

Rahmati said NICICO plans to increase copper concentrate output by 900 million tons to reach 2 million tons in the mid-term.

"Our concentrate production capacity is set to reach 2.6 million tons in NICICO's 2030-31 Development Plan … The development plan has been revised recently so that it covers a parallel development of all groups of products," he was also quoted as saying by ILNA.

However, concentrate production has been prioritized in the company's outlook, taking into account "the 60% marginal revenue" that the product generates.

“As per the plan, NICICO's copper cathode production capacity should exceed 550,000 tons by 2031,” Rahmati said.

“The development of refinery sites is the company's next priority. The marginal revenue of developing refinery plants is about 20%."