Iran’s Aluminum Consumption Growth Twice Global Rate

EghtesdadOnline: The global average aluminum consumption growth stands at 6% per year while the rate is 12% in Iran, according to Chairman of Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization Mehdi Karbasian.

News ID: ۷۸۴۰۰۳

15 September 2018

Vehicles manufacturing with 25% has the highest share of aluminum consumption in the world, followed by building industry with 25%, packaging with 17% and electricity industry with 12%, IRNA reported.

IMIDRO is planning to launch the construction of two factories: an alumina powder factory in the Parsian Special Economic Energy Zone in Bushehr Province with a production capacity of 800,000 tons per year, in addition to another factory for aluminum rolling at Lamard Special Economic Zone in Fars Province with a production capacity of 160,000 tons per year.

According to Karbasian, the latter is scheduled to become operational by the end of the fiscal year (March 2019), Financial Tribune reported.

"When operational, Iran’s ranking as the world’s 18th major aluminum ingot producer would improve to the 12th spot," he said.

He put the share of energy in downstream aluminum production at 40%.

Karbasian noted that Iran needs to import 1.60 million tons of bauxite annually to produce aluminum powder.

Referring to Iran’s 25-year contract of bauxite extraction in Guinea, he said the bauxite mine in the African country has 120 million tons of proven bauxite reserves and exploration operation has started since two years ago.

Bauxite is a sedimentary rock with relatively high aluminum content. It is the world's main source of aluminum.

Karbasian said the investment needed for the Guinea project is estimated at €600 million.

Global bauxite reserves stand at 55-75 billion tons. Guinea, Australia, Brazil, Vietnam, Jamaica and Indonesia have the biggest reserves in the world, while Australia, China and Brazil are the biggest producers of bauxite respectively.

Iran's bauxite reserves stand at around 39 million tons, making up 0.1% of global reserves.

Iran's major aluminum companies produced an aggregate of 121,909 tons of aluminum products during the first four months of the current fiscal year (March 21-July 22), which indicate an 11% increase compared with last year's corresponding period.

Flagship producer Iran Aluminum Company accounted for 60,361 tons of the total figure, followed by Hormozal Aluminum Company with 37,736 tons and Almahdi Aluminum Company with 23,785 tons.

Iran Alumina Company produced 81,958 tons of upstream aluminum products during the four-month period.

Iran has a current aluminum nameplate capacity of 457,000 tons per year, of which about 437,000 tons are operational, Metal Bulletin reported.

The country is planning to increase annual production to 1.5 million tons by 2025.