U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Circular 1421

Recent Trends in the Nonfuel Minerals Industry of Iran
Cover. Ore extraction and processing capacity expansion projects are under development at the Sar Cheshmeh open pit mine, 

Iran’s largest copper mine. Photograph by Gavin Doyle, South Africa.
Recent Trends in the Nonfuel Minerals 

Industry of Iran

By Sinan Hastorun, Karine M. Renaud, and Graham W. Lederer

Circular 1421

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Department of the Interior

SALLY JEWELL, Secretary

U.S. Geological Survey

Suzette M. Kimball, Director

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2016

For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living 

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visit http://store.usgs.gov/.

Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the 

U.S. Government.

Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials 

as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner.

Suggested citation:

Hastorun, Sinan, Renaud, K.M., and Lederer, G.W., 2016, Recent trends in the nonfuel minerals industry of Iran: 

U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1421, 18 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/cir1421. 

ISSN 1067-084X (print)

ISSN 2330-5703 (online)

ISBN 978-1-4113-4066-4
iii

Figures

1. Map showing locations of select key operating mines and nonfuel 

mineral processing facilities in Iran..........................................................................................2

2. Graph showing Iran’s share of world production and global ranking for 

selected mineral commodities in 2014 ......................................................................................7

3. Graphs showing Iran’s production of selected mineral commodities from 

2004 through 2014 and production targets for 2025 ................................................................7

Tables

1. Key mines and nonfuel mineral facilities in Iran including major development

and expansion projects ...............................................................................................................3

2. Iran’s mineral output and average annual growth: actual and targeted.............................8

Contents

Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................1

Mineral Resources and Reserves...............................................................................................................1

Minerals in the National Economy..............................................................................................................2

Mineral Commodity Production...................................................................................................................6

Mineral Commodity Review .........................................................................................................................8

Bauxite, Alumina, and Aluminum .......................................................................................................8

Cement....................................................................................................................................................9

Copper.....................................................................................................................................................9

Gold .......................................................................................................................................................10

Iron and Steel ......................................................................................................................................10

Lead and Zinc ......................................................................................................................................11

Rare-Earth Elements...........................................................................................................................12

Outlook...........................................................................................................................................................12

Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................................................12

References Cited..........................................................................................................................................13
iv

Conversion Factors

International System of Units to Inch/Pound

Multiply By To obtain

Area

square kilometer (km2

) 247.1 acre

square kilometer (km2

) 0.3861 square mile (mi2)

Mass

gram (g) 0.03527 ounce, avoirdupois (oz)

kilogram (kg) 2.205 pound avoirdupois (lb)

metric ton (t) 1.102 ton, short [2,000 lb]

metric ton (t) 0.9842 ton, long [2,240 lb]

Datum

Horizontal coordinate information is referenced to the World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS84). 
v

Abbreviations

CIDCO Cement Investment and Development Company 

DRI direct-reduced iron 

EAF electric arc furnace

FKCC Fars & Khuzestan Cement Company 

FTZ free trade zone

GDP gross domestic product

g/t gram per metric ton

Gt billion metric ton 

IMIDRO Iran Mines and Mining Industries Development Renovation Organization

IRALCO Iranian Aluminum Co.

K.D.D. Karoun Dez Dasht 

JCPOA Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action 

MENA Middle East and North Africa

MIDHCO Middle East Minerals Industries and Mines Development Holding Co.

MKM Mansfelder Kupfer und Messing GmbH 

Mt million metric ton

Mt/yr million metric ton per year

NICICO National Iranian Copper Industries Co.

PKP Pars Kohan Diarparsian Steel

SKS Kish South Kaveh Steel Co.

SX–EW solvent extraction–electrowinning

t metric ton

t/yr metric ton per year

Recent Trends in the Nonfuel Minerals Industry of Iran1

By Sinan Hastorun, Karine M. Renaud, and Graham W. Lederer

1

This Circular is for informational purposes only and reflects

publicly available information collected by the U.S. Geological Survey, 

National Minerals Information Center. No portion of this Circular is

intended to be or should be interpreted as promoting any business or

trade opportunities with regard to or inside Iran. Any use of trade names

is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement in any

way by the U.S. Government. 

2

 U.S. persons/organizations should consult with the U.S. Department

of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (https://www.treasury.gov/

resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Pages/iran.aspx) to understand the

U.S. sanctions regime before pursuing any business or activity 

in/with Iran.

Introduction

On January 16, 2016, President Obama announced 

that the United States would lift nuclear-related “secondary 

sanctions” on transactions by foreign persons and entities 

involving Iran that took place outside of U.S. jurisdiction in 

accordance with the “Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action 

(JCPOA)” signed in July 2015. Prior to the “Implementation 

Day” of January 16, 2016, U.S. nuclear sanctions imposed 

on Iran’s minerals industry had prohibited foreign investment 

and trade in petroleum, refined petroleum products, coal, gold 

and other precious metals, graphite, and raw or semifinished 

metals such as aluminum and steel (U.S. Department of the 

Treasury, 2016, p. 1–2). Following Implementation Day, 

the vast majority of U.S. sanctions on Iran remain in place 

and Iran’s minerals industry remains closed to American 

companies2 (White House, 2016). This Circular provides 

information on Iran’s current supply of, and future mineral 

extraction and processing projects for, those nonfuel mineral 

commodities whose output levels may substantially change 

in the near future.

Mineral Resources and Reserves

The geology of Iran consists of a complex tectonic 

framework within the broader Alpine-Himalayan orogenic belt 

and hosts deposits of more than 68 fuel and nonfuel mineral 

commodities (Press TV, 2015c). Metallic mineral resources 

occur predominantly within igneous and metamorphic rocks 

of the Tethyan Eurasian Metallogenic Belt, particularly along 

the Urumieh-Dokhtar Magmatic Belt that trends northwestsoutheast between the Central Iranian and Sanandaj-Sirjan 

Terranes in Eşfahān, Hamadān, Kermān, Markazī, Yazd, and 

Zanjān Provinces (fig. 1; Ghorbani, 2013, p. 243–249; Zürcher 

and others, 2015, p. 4–5). The Government-run Iranian 

Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation 

Organization (IMIDRO) planned to identify new nonfuel 

mineral deposits—in particular, those of bauxite, copper, gold, 

iron ore, rare-earth elements, and zinc (Iranian Mines and 

Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization, 

2015a; Karbasian, 2015, p. 3–6). Prospecting efforts would 

initially focus on an area of 44,800 square kilometers (km2

) 

in six zones extending from Ābādeh in Fārs Province to 

Jāzmūrīān near Sīstān va Balūchestān Province for chromium, 

copper, iron ore, and titanium (Press TV, 2015b). The new 

exploration program would eventually expand to 240,000 km2

of territory within 12 Provinces (Press TV, 2015d) running 

from Bostānābād in Āz̄arbāyjān-e Sharqī Province in the 

northwest to Sarāvān in Sīstān va Balūchestān Province in the 

southeast over the next decade. By comparison, a total area 

of 100,000 km2 had been explored in Iran in the 20th century 

(Karbasian, 2015, p. 6; Press TV, 2015b, c, d).

The U.S. Geological Survey (2016, p. 31, 61, 63, 77, 91) 

estimated that Iran held globally significant reserves of feldspar

(2d largest in the world), barite (5th largest), gypsum (5th largest),

fluorspar (8th largest), and iron ore (10th largest). According 

to the Government of Iran, nonfuel mineral ore reserves 

(proven, probable, and possible) were as follows: copper ore, 

4.2 billion metric tons (Gt), of which 1.9 Gt were reportedly proven reserves (Samaneh Kansar Zamnin Co., 2013; 
2 Recent Trends in the Nonfuel Minerals Industry of Iran

Figure 1. Locations of select key operating mines and nonfuel mineral processing facilities in Iran.

D D

D

D

D

D

IRAQ

TURKMENISTAN

UZBEKISTAN

SAUDI ARABIA

AFGHANISTAN

IRAN

PAKISTAN

TURKEY

AZERBAIJAN AZERBAIJAN

KUWAIT

QATAR

ARMENIA

OMAN

BAHRAIN

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Sarcheshmeh

Khatoonabad

Sepahan

Khuzestan

Tehran

Abyek

Fārs

Yazd

Kermān

Eşfahān

Semnān

Sīstān va Balūchestān

Khorāsān-e Raẕavī

Khūzestān

Hormozgān

Khorāsān-e

Jonūbī

Īlām

Markazī

Lorestān

Ardabīl

Kordestān

Gīlān Golestān

Kermānshāh

Qazvīn

Qom

Zanjān

Tehrān

Būshehr

Āzarbāyjān-e

Sharqī

Hamadān

Māzandarān

Āzarbāyjān-e Gharbī

Maḩāl va

Chahār

Bakhtīārī 

Kohgīlūyeh

va Bower 

 Ahmad

Khorāsān-e 

Shomālī

Alborz

45° E 50° E 55° E 60° E

40° N

35° N

30° N

Ì

D

D

Ì

Ì

Ì

Ì

Ì

ÌÌ

Ì

Ì

Ì

Ì

Ì

D

D

D

D

D

Ì

Ì

Ì

Ì

Ì

D

D

D

Arak

Bandar Abbas

Esfahan

Mobarakeh

Zanjan

Kish South Kaveh

Khouzestan Bafgh

Dandi

Miduk

Sungun

Sarcheshmeh

Muteh

Sari Gunay

Zarshouran

Agh Darreh

Sangan

Jalal Abad

Chadormalu

Gol-e-Gohar

Emarat

Koushk

Irankouh

Angouran

Mehdi Abad Choghart

Caspian Sea 

Persian

 Gulf

0 100 200 MILES

Maritime and political boundaries are not necessarily authoritative and are derived 0 200 400 KILOMETERS 100

from Esri and open-source shapefiles extracted from GADM (gadm.org, 2015)

Mercator projection, datum is World Geographic System of 1984

EXPLANATION

Maritime boundary

International border

Province boundary D Cement plant

D Copper smelter

D Alumina refinery

D Aluminum smelter

D Steel plant

D Zinc refinery

Ì Bauxite mine

Ì Copper mine

Ì Gold mine

Ì Iron ore mine

Ì Zinc mine

Jajarm

Jajarm

IRAN

Iran Daily, 2015); iron ore, 2.7 Gt; bauxite and aluminum 

sources, 1.2 Gt; kaolin, 100 million metric tons (Mt); phosphate 

rock, 16.5 Mt; zinc, 11 Mt; barite, 10 Mt; manganese, 9.7 Mt; 

chromium, 8.5 Mt; and gold, 340 metric tons (t) (Iranian Mines 

and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization, 2015a, p. 11; Press TV, 2015a; Sharma, 2015).

Minerals in the National Economy

Iran’s nominal gross domestic product (GDP) was 

$425.3 billion in 2014, making Iran the third largest economy 

in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region after 

Turkey and Saudi Arabia. The country had an extensive 

mineral production and processing industry that produced 

more than 40 mineral commodities. Major nonfuel mineral 

commodities produced by Iran are shown in table 1. Mining 

accounted for less than 1 percent of the country’s GDP, 

whereas mineral processing, of which aluminum, cement, 

copper, and steel production were significant components, 

contributed an additional 4 percent of GDP in 2014. 

IMIDRO planned to double the contribution of mining and 

quadruple that of mineral processing within the next decade 

(Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 2015, p. 2; 

Iran International Magazine, 2015, p. 29; Trade Arabia, 2015; 

World Bank, 2015). 
Minerals in the National Economy 3

Table 1. Key mines and nonfuel mineral facilities in Iran including major development and expansion projects.—Continued

[Annual capacities in thousand metric tons unless otherwise noted; current capacities as of most recent reference cited. Planned facilities, denoted by (*), 

do not appear on the map (fig. 1). e, estimated; IMIDRO, Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization; kg, kilogram; 

NA, not available; =, unchanged; —, not applicable]

Commodity Facility

name

Facility 

type

Major operating

companies and major 

equity owners

Province

Annual capacity Capacity

reference Current Planned

Bauxite, alumina, and aluminum

Bauxite Jajarm Mine Iran Alumina Co.

(IMIDRO)

Khorāsān-e 

Shomālī

800 = National Geoscience 

Database of Iran, 

undated

Alumina Arak Refinery* Iran Alumina Co.

(IMIDRO)

Markazī — 2,000 Sharma, 2015

Alumina Jajarm Refinery Iran Alumina Co.

(IMIDRO)

Khorāsān-e 

Shomālī

280 = Iran International

Magazine, 2003

Alumina Asaluyeh Refinery* Sinosteel Equipment & 

Engineering Co. Ltd.

Būshehr — 1,600 Tasnim News Agency, 

2016a

Alumina Sarab Refinery* Iran Alumina Co.

(IMIDRO)

Āz̄arbāyjān-e 

Sharqī

— 200 Iran Daily, 2014

Aluminum Arak Smelter Iranian Aluminum Co. 

(IMIDRO)

Markazī 230 = Iran International

Magazine, 2015

Aluminum Bandar

Abbas

Smelter Almahdi Aluminum Co. 

(IMIDRO)

Hormozgān 257 500 Iran International

Magazine, 2015; 

Karbasian, 2015

Aluminum Asaluyeh Smelter* Sinosteel Equipment & 

Engineering Co. Ltd.

Būshehr — 350 Tasnim News Agency, 

2016a

Aluminum Chabahar Smelter* National Aluminum Co. Sīstān va 

Balūchestān

— 500 Karbasian, 2015

Aluminum Jajarm Smelter* Iran Alumina Co. 

(IMIDRO)

Khorāsān-e 

Shomālī

— 110 Karbasian, 2015

Aluminum Lamerd Smelter* South Aluminum Co. 

(Ghadir Investment Co., 

IMIDRO)

Fārs 276 500 Karbasian, 2015

Aluminum Masjed 

Soleyman

Smelter* Kaveh Khozestan 

Aluminium Co.

Khūzestān — 375 Iran International 

Magazine, 2015

Cement

Cement Abyek Plant Abyek Cement Co.

(Fars & Khuzestan 

Cement Co.)

Qazvīn 3,900 = Intercem Doha, 2015

Cement Khuzestan Plant Khuzestan Cement Co. 

(Fars & Khuzestan 

Cement Co.)

Khūzestān 2,500 = Intercem Doha, 2015

Cement Sepahan Plant Sepahan Cement Co. 

(Ghadir Investment Co.)

Eşfahān 3,100 = Intercem Doha, 2015

Cement Tehran Plant Tehran Cement Co. Tehrān 3,200 = Intercem Doha, 2015

Copper

Copper concentrateMiduk Mine National Iranian Copper 

Industries Co. (IMIDRO)

Kermān 150 = International Copper 

Study Group, 2015

Copper concentrateSarcheshmeh Mine National Iranian Copper 

Industries Co. (IMIDRO)

Kermān 640 800 International Copper 

Study Group, 2015

Copper concentrateSungun Mine National Iranian Copper 

Industries Co. (IMIDRO)

Āz̄arbāyjān-e 

Sharqī

300 = International Copper 

Study Group, 2015
4 Recent Trends in the Nonfuel Minerals Industry of Iran

Table 1. Key mines and nonfuel mineral facilities in Iran including major development and expansion projects.—Continued

[Annual capacities in thousand metric tons unless otherwise noted; current capacities as of most recent reference cited. Planned facilities, denoted by (*), 

do not appear on the map (fig. 1). e, estimated; IMIDRO, Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization; kg, kilogram; 

NA, not available; =, unchanged; —, not applicable]

Commodity Facility

name

Facility 

type

Major operating

companies and major 

equity owners

Province

Annual capacity Capacity

reference Current Planned

Copper—Continued

Copper concentrateChah FirouzehMine* National Iranian Copper 

Industries Co. (IMIDRO)

Kermān — 100 International Copper 

Study Group, 2015

Copper, 

anode

Khatoonabad Smelter National Iranian Copper 

Industries Co. (IMIDRO)

Kermān 80 120 International Copper 

Study Group, 2015

Copper, 

anode

Sarcheshmeh Smelter National Iranian Copper 

Industries Co. (IMIDRO)

Kermān 145 280 International Copper 

Study Group, 2015

Copper, 

cathode

Sarcheshmeh Refinery National Iranian Copper 

Industries Co. (IMIDRO)

Kermān 240 = International Copper 

Study Group, 2015

Copper, 

cathode

Khatoonabad Refinery* National Iranian Copper 

Industries Co. (IMIDRO)

Kermān — 200 International Copper 

Study Group, 2015

Copper, 

cathode

Miduk SX–EW National Iranian Copper 

Industries Co. (IMIDRO)

Kermān 5 = International Copper 

Study Group, 2015

Copper, 

cathode

Sarcheshmeh SX–EW National Iranian Copper 

Industries Co. (IMIDRO)

Kermān 12 = International Copper 

Study Group, 2015

Copper, 

cathode

Sungun SX–EW* National Iranian Copper 

Industries Co. (IMIDRO)

Āz̄arbāyjān-e 

Sharqī

3 53 International Copper 

Study Group, 2015

Gold

Gold (kg) Agh Darreh Mine Pooya Zarcan Agh Darreh Āz̄arbāyjān-e 

Gharbī

2,200 = Mehr News Agency, 

2014

Gold (kg) Muteh Mine Iran Minerals Production

and Supply Co.

(IMIDRO)

Eşfahān 300 = Iran Minerals

Production and 

Supply Co., 2015b

Gold (kg) Sari Gunay Mine Zar Kuh Mining Co. Kordestān 2,000 = Press TV, 2015f

Gold (kg) Zarshouran Mine IMIDRO Āz̄arbāyjān-e 

Gharbī

3,000 6,000 Iran International 

Magazine, 2015

Iron and steel

Iron ore Chadormalu Mine Chadormalu Mining

& Industrial Co.

(National Iranian

Steel Co., IMIDRO)

Yazd 16,000 = Iran International 

Magazine, 2015

Iron ore Choghart Mine Iran Central Iron Ore Co. 

(National Iranian

Steel Co., IMIDRO)

Yazd 3,250 6,200 Iran Central Iron 

Ore Co., undated; 

Iran International 

Magazine, 2001

Iron ore Gol-e-Gohar Mine Gol-e-Gohar Iron Ore Co. 

(National Iranian

Steel Co., IMIDRO)

Kermān 7,000 = Iran International 

Magazine, 2015

Iron ore Jalal Abad Mine Iran Minerals Production

and Supply Co.

(IMIDRO)

Kermān 2,000 4,000 Iran Daily, 2012

Iron ore Sangan Mine Sangan Iron Ore Co. 

(National Iranian

Steel Co., IMIDRO)

Khorāsān-e 

Raẕavī

2,600 5,000 IMIDRO, 2012

Iron ore 

pellets

Persian

Metallics

Plant* Danieli Group, Butia 

Iranian Steel Co.

Sīstān va 

Balūchestān

— 6,000 Moggridge, 2016a
Minerals in the National Economy 5

Table 1. Key mines and nonfuel mineral facilities in Iran including major development and expansion projects.—Continued

[Annual capacities in thousand metric tons unless otherwise noted; current capacities as of most recent reference cited. Planned facilities, denoted by (*), 

do not appear on the map (fig. 1). e, estimated; IMIDRO, Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization; kg, kilogram; 

NA, not available; =, unchanged; —, not applicable]

Commodity Facility

name

Facility 

type

Major operating

companies and major 

equity owners

Province

Annual capacity Capacity

reference Current Planned

Iron and steel—Continued

Iron ore 

pellets

NA Plant* KIOCL Ltd. NA — 1,100 Das and Serapio, 

2016

Iron, directreducedHormozgan Plant Hormozgan Steel Co. 

(National Iranian

Steel Co., IMIDRO)

Hormozgān 1,500 3,000 Havasi, 2016

Iron, directreducedKhouzestan Plant Khouzestan Steel Co. 

(National Iranian

Steel Co., IMIDRO)

Khūzestān 4,000 = Khouzestan Steel Co., 

undated

Iron, directreducedMobarakeh Plant Mobarakeh Steel Co.

(National Iranian

Steel Co., IMIDRO)

Eşfahān 5,000 = Mobarakeh Steel Co., 

undated

Steel, crude Esfahan Plant Esfahan Steel Co.

(National Iranian

Steel Co., IMIDRO)

Eşfahān 3,600 4,200 Iran International 

Magazine, 2015

Steel, crude Khouzestan Plant Khouzestan Steel Co. 

(National Iranian

Steel Co., IMIDRO)

Khūzestān 3,600 = Khouzestan Steel Co., 

undated

Steel, crude Kish South 

Kaveh

Plant Kish South Kaveh

Steel Co.

Hormozgān 1,200 2,400 Moggridge, 2016b

Steel, crude Mobarakeh Plant Mobarakeh Steel Co.

(National Iranian

Steel Co., IMIDRO)

Eşfahān 5,400 = Iran International 

Magazine, 2015

Steel, crude Arvand Plant* Arvand Jahanara Steel Co.,

Kish South Kaveh Steel 

Co., United Steel Industrial Co.

Khūzestān — 5,000 Financial Tribune, 

2015c

Steel, crude Chabahar Plant* Pars Kohan Diaparsian 

Steel, POSCO

Sīstān va 

Balūchestān

— 1,600 Jin, 2016

Steel, crude Persian 

Metallics

Plant* Danieli Group, Butia 

Iranian Steel Co.

Sīstān va 

Balūchestān

— 1,500 Financial Tribune, 

2016b

Steel, crude Qeshm Plant* Qeshm Steel Mills

(IMIDRO)

Hormozgān — 1,600 Karbasian, 2015

Lead and zinc

Lead concentrate

Dandi Plant Calcimin Co. (Iran Zinc 

Mine Development Co., 

IMIDRO)

Zanjān 30 = Iran Zinc Mines 

Development Co., 

undated

Lead concentrateZanjan Plant Zanjan Zinc Khales Sazan 

Industrial Group

Zanjān 20 = Zanjan Zinc Khales 

Sazan Industrial 

Group, 2016

Lead, refined Zanjan Refinery National Iranian Lead & 

Zinc Co. (IMIDRO)

Zanjān 40 = National Geoscience 

Database of Iran, 

undated

Lead and 

zinc ore

Angouran Mine Calcimin Co. (Iran Zinc 

Mine Development Co., 

IMIDRO)

Zanjān 1,000 = Minews, 2015a
6 Recent Trends in the Nonfuel Minerals Industry of Iran

Table 1. Key mines and nonfuel mineral facilities in Iran including major development and expansion projects.—Continued

[Annual capacities in thousand metric tons unless otherwise noted; current capacities as of most recent reference cited. Planned facilities, denoted by (*), 

do not appear on the map (fig. 1). e, estimated; IMIDRO, Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization; kg, kilogram; 

NA, not available; =, unchanged; —, not applicable]

Commodity Facility

name

Facility 

type

Major operating

companies and major 

equity owners

Province

Annual capacity Capacity

reference Current Planned

Lead and zinc—Continued

Lead and 

zinc ore

Emarat Mine Ber-Oner Tehran Co. Markazī 150 = Tete Mining, undated

Lead and 

zinc ore

Irankouh Mine Bama Co. Eşfahān 100 = Bama Co., undated

Lead and 

zinc ore

Koushk Mine Bafgh Mining Co. Yazd 120 = Hannam & Partners, 

2015

Lead and 

zinc ore

Mehdi Abad Mine Mehdiabad Zinc Co. 

(K.D.D. Group)

Yazd 700e 6,000e Minews, 2015d; 

IMIDRO, 2016

Zinc concentrateDandi Plant Calcimin Co. (Iran Zinc 

Mine Development Co., 

IMIDRO)

Zanjān 500 = Iran Zinc Mines 

Development Co., 

undated

Zinc concentrateMehdi Abad Plant Mehdiabad Zinc Co. 

(K.D.D. Group)

Yazd 100 800 Minews, 2015d; 

IMIDRO, 2016

Zinc concentrateZanjan Plant Zangan Zinc Industry LLP 

(Iran Zinc Mine Development Co., IMIDRO)

Zanjān 250 = Iran Zinc Mines 

Development Co., 

undated

Zinc concentrateZanjan Plant Zanjan Zinc Khales Sazan 

Industrial Group

Zanjān 200 = Zanjan Zinc Khales 

Sazan Industrial 

Group, 2016

Zinc, refined Bafgh Refinery Bafgh Zinc Smelting Co. 

(Iran Zinc Mine Development Co., IMIDRO)

Yazd 30 = Iran Zinc Mines 

Development Co., 

undated

Zinc, refined Dandi Refinery Calcimin Co. (Iran Zinc 

Mine Development Co., 

IMIDRO)

Zanjān 80 = Iran Zinc Mines 

Development Co., 

undated

Zinc, refined Zanjan Refinery Zanjan Zinc Khales Sazan 

Industrial Group

Zanjān 35 = Zanjan Zinc Khales 

Sazan Industrial 

Group, 2016

Zinc, refined Mehdi Abad Refinery* Mehdiabad Zinc Co. 

(K.D.D. Group)

Yazd — 100 Tete Mining, undated

Mineral Commodity Production

Iran ranked among the top 15 producers in the world 

for nine nonfuel mineral commodities in 2014. For gypsum 

and barite, the country’s shares of world production were 

particularly significant, making it the 2d-leading producer 

of gypsum and the 6th-leading producer of barite, with 

6.1 percent and 3.6 percent of world output, respectively. 

Iran was also the world’s 7th-leading producer of cement, 

feldspar, and fluorspar; 8th-leading producer of bentonite; 

9th-leading producer of molybdenum; 11th-leading 

producer of iron ore; and 14th-leading producer of crude 

steel (fig. 2; U.S. Geological Survey, 2016, p. 31, 45, 51, 

61, 63, 77, 91, 113; World Steel Association, 2016). Within 

the MENA region, Iran ranked first in output for copper 

(Reichl and others, 2016, p. 101), fluorspar, gypsum, iron 

ore, and molybdenum. It also ranked second after Morocco 

for barite and after Turkey for bentonite, cement, crude steel, 

feldspar, lead, and zinc. Iran was not a globally or regionally significant producer of alumina, aluminum, bauxite, 

or gold (Reichl and others, 2016, p. 101; Mowafa Taib, 

U.S. Geological Survey, unpub. data, 2016).

IMIDRO, which owns and operates most of the country’s 

mines and mineral processing facilities, aims to substantially 

increase the volume of Iran’s total mineral output to 200 Mt 

by 2025 (Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development 

and Renovation Organization, 2015a, p. 13). As production 

levels for many industrial minerals were already relatively 
Mineral Commodity Production 7

6.1 

3.6 

2.8 2.7

1.6

1.0

1.4 1.4

1.0

Gypsum Barite Feldspar Bentonite Cement

Commodity

Fluorspar Molyb- Iron ore

denum

Crude

steel

2

4

6

1

0

3

5

7

Share of world production in 2014, in percent 

2d

6th

7th 8th

7th 7th 9th

11th 14th

Figure 2. Iran’s share 

of world production and 

global ranking for selected 

mineral commodities in 

2014 (U.S. Geological 

Survey, 2016; World Steel 

Association, 2016).

0 

160 

320 

480 

640 

800 

Copper, cathode 

Thousand metric tons 

0 

0.3 

0.6 

0.9 

1.2 

1.5 

Aluminum 

Million metric tons 

Million metric tons of

contained iron Million metric tons 

Million metric tons 

Metric tons 

Thousand metric tons 

0 

24 

48 

72 

96 

120 

Cement 

0

2

4

6

8

10

Gold 

0 

13 

26 

40 

53 

66 

2004 2006 2008 2010 

2012 2014 

2025 

Iron ore 

0 

10 

21 

31 

42 

52 

2004 2006 

2008 2010 2012 2014 2025 

Steel, crude 

0

60

120

180

240

300

2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2025 

Zinc, refined 

Figure 3. Iran’s production of selected mineral commodities from 2004 

through 2014 (Mobbs, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015; Staff, 2016; Sinan Hastorun, 

U.S. Geological Survey, unpub. data, 2016) and production targets for 2025 

(Financial Tribune, 2015d; Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development 

and Renovation Organization, 2015a, b).

high, output targets have been established primarily for 

metals (fig. 3). Accordingly, Iran plans to quadruple the 

output of aluminum, copper cathode, direct-reduced iron, 

and iron ore pellets; triple that of crude steel and gold; and 

double that of cement, pig iron, and zinc (Karbasian, 2014, 

p. 4; Financial Tribune, 2015d; Iranian Mines and Mining 

Industries Development and Renovation Organization, 

2015a, p. 6). At levels envisioned by the Government, Iran 

would become the leading producer of nonfuel mineral 

commodities in the MENA region, but would still trail 

Algeria in zinc production, Egypt in gold, Turkey in steel, 

and the United Arab Emirates in aluminum (Mowafa Taib, 

U.S. Geological Survey, unpub. data, 2016). Except for 

cement, gold, and iron ore, annual growth rates needed to 

reach the 2025 production targets significantly exceed those 

realized in the past decade, highlighting the substantial amount 

of investment into Iran’s minerals industry that would be 

required (table 2). The Government of Iran estimated funds 

required for building and upgrading mines and facilities to 

exceed $29 billion, a substantial portion of which it hoped 

would be provided through foreign investment (Bloomberg, 

2015; Financial Tribune, 2015c).
8 Recent Trends in the Nonfuel Minerals Industry of Iran

Table 2. Iran’s mineral output and average annual growth: 

actual and targeted. 

[Mineral output in million metric tons unless otherwise specified. Sources: 

Mobbs (2010); Karbasian (2014); Financial Tribune (2015c); Iranian Mines 

and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (2015a); 

Sinan Hastorun, U.S. Geological Survey, unpub. data (2016)]

Commodity Mineral output Annual growth 

(percent)

2014 2025 2004–2014 2015–2025

Aluminum

Cement

Copper, cathode1

Gold2

Iron ore, iron content

Steel, crude

Zinc, refined1

0.4

66.4

194

3.3

23.7

16.3

142

1.5

120

800

10

66.2

52

300

5

8

2

33

10

7

3

14

6

14

11

10

11

7

1

Mineral output in thousand metric tons.

2

Mineral output in metric tons.

Mineral Commodity Review

Bauxite, Alumina, and Aluminum

Iran was a minor producer of bauxite, alumina, and 

aluminum in the MENA region and globally in 2014 (Reichl 

and others, 2016, p. 141, 143; Mowafa Taib, U.S. Geological 

Survey, unpub. data, 2016). The country’s production of 

bauxite decreased by 36 percent to 504,000 t and output 

continued to lag behind domestic demand from alumina and 

aluminum producers (fig. 3; Minews, 2015c). Iran Alumina 

Co., the only producer of bauxite and alumina in the country, 

operated the Jajarm Mine, Khorāsān-e Shomālī Province, 

the country’s largest bauxite mine with estimated reserves 

of 10.6 Mt averaging 47 percent total available alumina 

(Ghorbani, 2013, p. 319). The mine supplied about 36 percent 

of Iran’s annual domestic bauxite consumption, whereas 

imports, mostly from Guinea, accounted for the remaining 

64 percent (Sharma, 2015). Iran Alumina Co. also operated a 

280,000-metric-ton-per-year (t/yr) alumina refinery in Jājarm, 

which met about a quarter of annual domestic demand (table 1; 

Robinson, 2015). In 2014, alumina production increased by 

3 percent to 252,000 t (fig. 3). During the year, Iran exported 

47,300 t of alumina to Tajikistan for the first time and imported 

135,100 t of alumina from China and India (Ministry of 

Industry, Mine, and Trade, 2014, p. 32, 34). In order to increase 

bauxite production, Iran Alumina Co. continued to explore 

deposits domestically in Kermān, Kohgīlūyeh va Bowyer 

Aḩmad, Semnān, and Yazd Provinces (Minews, 2015b) 

as well as abroad in Guinea through the recently renewed 

4-million-metric-ton-per-year (Mt/yr) Societe des Bauxites 

de Dabola-Tougue project, which was 51 percent owned 

by IMIDRO and 49 percent by the Government of Guinea 

(Islamic Republic News Agency, 2015). As of May 2016, 

IMIDRO was in the process of evaluating alternatives to 

transport bauxite from the inland mine to a port in Guinea, 

including the construction of a railway (Nasseri and Kalantari, 

2016). In 2015, the company discovered deposits at the Ganou 

and Taash Mines in Semnān Province and was in the process 

of obtaining operating permits for mines in Kermān and Yazd 

Provinces (Iran International Magazine, 2015, p. 118). It 

planned to build a 2-Mt/yr capacity alumina refinery (from 

bauxite) in Arāk, Markazī Province, and a 200,000-t/yr alumina 

(from nepheline syenite) refinery in Sarāb, Āzarbāyjān-e 

Sharqī Province (table 1; Iran Daily, 2014; Sharma, 2015). In 

March 2016, Sinosteel Equipment and Engineering Co. Ltd. 

of China announced plans to build a 1.6-Mt/yr alumina plant 

(formerly known as the Persian Gulf Alumina Project) to be 

supplied with imported bauxite from the Guinean project and 

an aluminum smelter with production capacity of 350,000 t/yr 

of aluminum ingots (table 1; Tasnim News Agency, 2016a).

Two companies produced primary aluminum in Iran: 

Iranian Aluminum Co. (IRALCO) and Almahdi Aluminum Co. 

(table 1). In 2014, total aluminum production increased by 

20 percent from 2013 to 354,000 t (Iranian Mines and Mining 

Industries Development and Renovation Organization, 2014, 

p. 10; 2015a, p. 12; Sharma, 2015); however, the aluminum 

output in 2013 had been below the country’s average annual 

output of about 320,000 t (fig. 3). Iran’s aluminum output was 

the lowest among Persian Gulf countries (Bahrain, Oman, 

Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates) except for 

Kuwait, which did not produce aluminum. Despite Iran’s 

abundant reserves of natural gas available for energy use, 

insufficient electricity generation as well as a shortage of 

bauxite input continued to prevent full utilization of the country’s total aluminum capacity, which was 487,000 t/yr in 2015 

(table 1; Sharma, 2015; Foundry-Suppliers.com, 2016; Nasseri 

and Kalantari, 2016). To reach the Government’s 2025 target 

output of 1.5 Mt of aluminum, an average annual growth rate 

of 14 percent would be required starting in 2015, almost triple 

the 5 percent in the previous decade (table 2; fig. 3; Mottahedi and Mottahedi, 2012; Farge, 2013; Iran International 

Magazine, 2015, p. 20, 118). The target had been in place 

since 2000, but was unmet as a component of the 5th National 

Development Plan for 2010 through 2015 (Mottahedi and 

Mottahedi, 2012; Financial Tribune, 2015a). IMIDRO 

planned to achieve the goal through foreign investment of 

about $10 billion and a commitment by the Government to 

supply electricity to new aluminum plants at fixed rates under 

long-term agreements. It also planned to increase domestic 

aluminum output to 770,000 t/yr by 2016 through expansion 

of the sector’s total capacity (Farge, 2013) and to export 

60 percent of output (Nasseri and Kalantari, 2016). Official 

plans included the expansion of Almahdi’s Hormozgān smelter 

capacity from 110,000 t/yr to 257,000 t/yr (Iran International 

Magazine, 2015, p. 102) and the construction of two new 

smelters: a 110,000-t/yr smelter in Jājarm by Iran Alumina 

Co. and a 276,000-t/yr smelter in Lāmerd, Fārs Province, 

̄
Mineral Commodity Review 9

by South Aluminum Co. (SALCO) (Karbasian, 2015, p. 5). 

Almahdi and SALCO planned to further increase the capacities of each smelter to 500,000 t/yr by 2025 (Karbasian, 2015, 

p. 5). Kaveh Khozestan Aluminium Co. was in the process of 

building an aluminum smelter with a 375,000-t/yr capacity in 

Masjed Soleymān, Khūzestān Province, through two phases 

(Hosseini and Moghadam, 2014; Iran International Magazine, 

2015, p. 30). India’s National Aluminum Co. was considering

building a 500,000-t/yr aluminum smelter complex in Chābahār,

Sīstān va Balūchestān Province (table 1; Karbasian, 2015; 

Dash and Das, 2016). 

Cement

Iran was the second-leading cement producer in the 

MENA region after Turkey (U.S. Geological Survey, 2016, 

p. 45) and competed with the latter and Pakistan for the export 

markets of neighboring countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan 

(Kalb, 2014). In 2014, Iran’s cement production decreased 

by 33 percent to 66.4 Mt after decreasing by 2 percent in 

2013, owing largely to a continuing decline in domestic 

consumption and the resulting contraction of the construction sector since 2012 (fig. 3). Iran’s cement consumption 

amounted to 54.0 Mt in 2014 compared with 55.6 Mt in 2013 

and 57.6 Mt in 2012 (International Cement Review, 2015, 

p. 177). To reach the Government’s 2025 target output of 

120 Mt of cement, an average annual growth rate of 6 percent 

would be required starting in 2015 compared with 8 percent in 

the previous decade (table 2; fig. 3; Financial Tribune, 2015d). 

The cement sector faced challenges, such as reduced construction activity and an inadequate provision of natural gas to 

industrial users, which have prompted the idling of a portion 

of its capacity. A surplus stock of 17 Mt of clinker at yearend 

2014 prompted a 30-day halt in production in January 2015 

(Global Cement staff, 2015c). As of early 2016, 35 percent 

of total cement capacity remained inactive (Global Cement 

staff, 2016). Cement producers have increasingly focused on 

exports in recent years to compensate for falling demand. Iran 

was the leading global exporter of cement, shipping 19.4 Mt 

(including clinker) in 2014, primarily to countries in the 

Middle East and Central Asia (International Cement Review, 

2015, p. 7). Iraq was the main recipient of exports of cement 

from Iran, receiving 51 percent, followed by Afghanistan, 

Kuwait, and Qatar (9 percent each); Turkmenistan (6 percent); 

and Pakistan (5 percent). The Government aimed to increase 

cement exports to 21 Mt/yr by 2017 and to 32 Mt/yr by 2025 

(Financial Tribune, 2015d; Global Cement staff, 2015b, c; 

International Cement Review, 2015; Tajik, 2016).

There were 71 cement plants in Iran in 2015 with a 

combined capacity of 80.6 Mt/yr, including 64 grey cement 

plants and 7 white cement plants (International Cement 

Review, 2015, p. 177; Tajik, 2016). As of early 2016, utilized 

capacity of the cement sector amounted to 66 Mt/yr. The 

construction of 54 new plants with an additional capacity 

of 48.3 Mt/yr was planned (Global Cement staff, 2015a; 

Financial Tribune, 2015d). Of these, 10 plants were near 

completion as of September 2015, with 8.3 Mt/yr of capacity 

expected to come online in 2016 (Tajik, 2016). Governmentbacked companies, including Fars & Khuzestan Cement Co. 

(FKCC), Tehran Cement Co., and Ghadir Investment Co., 

controlled 63 percent of the cement market by sales. FKCC, 

the leading cement producer, operated 17 plants with a total 

capacity of 24.8 Mt/yr, including the 3.9-Mt/yr Abyek plant, 

the largest in Iran (Intercem Doha, 2015). Tehran Cement, the 

second-leading cement producer, operated seven plants with 

a total capacity of 10.6 Mt, whereas Cement Investment and 

Development Co. (CIDCO) operated five plants with a total 

capacity of 8.1 Mt (table 1; International Cement Review, 

2015, p. 176). The market share of privately owned companies 

continued to increase, reaching 37 percent in 2015 (Global 

Cement staff, 2015a, 2016; Tajik, 2016).

Copper

Iran was the leading copper producer in the MENA 

region (Reichl and others, 2016, p. 144–145; Mowafa Taib, 

U.S. Geological Survey, unpub. data, 2016). In 2014, the 

country’s production of copper concentrate increased by 

5 percent to 790,000 t, copper anode by 4 percent to 232,500 t, 

and copper cathode by 3 percent to 194,000 t from those of 

2013 (fig. 3). To reach the Government’s 2025 target output 

of 800,000 t of copper cathode, an average annual growth rate 

of 14 percent would be required starting in 2015, a sevenfold 

increase compared with 2 percent registered in the previous 

decade (table 2; fig. 3; Iran International Magazine, 2015, 

p. 20; Iranian Mines and Mining Investment Development 

and Renovation Organization, 2015a, p. 13). In 2014, Iran 

exported 46,600 t and imported only 400 t of copper cathode 

(Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade, 2014, p. 33, 35).

National Iranian Copper Industries Co. (NICICO), 

the leading producer of copper in the country, operated the 

country’s three major copper mines of Miduk, Sarcheshmeh, 

and Sungun, whose combined reserves (proven, probable, and 

possible) were estimated by an Iranian exploration study to be 

2.6 Gt of ore containing 0.6 percent copper (table 1; Samaneh 

Kansar Zamnin Co., 2013). The company was in the process 

of increasing copper production through expansion of existing 

facilities in 2015. During the year, NICICO added about 

300,000 t/yr to its total copper concentrate production capacity 

by commissioning two ore beneficiation units in Sarcheshmeh 

and Sungun. The capacity of the Sarcheshmeh copper complex 

increased by 160,000 t/yr of copper concentrate and 1,100 t/yr 

of molybdenum concentrate (National Iranian Copper Industries Co., 2015b), whereas that of the Sungun copper complex 

doubled to 300,000 t/yr of copper concentrate (Financial 

Tribune, 2015f; Ghale, 2015). NICICO planned to increase 

its output of copper concentrate from 251,000 t in 2015 to 

300,000 t/yr in 2016 and to 400,000 t/yr by 2018 (International Mining, 2014; National Iranian Copper Industries Co., 

2015a, b). The company was also in the process of building 

the 200,000-t/yr Khatoonabad refinery in Kermān Province, 

and the 50,000-t/yr Sungun solvent extraction–electrowinning 
10 Recent Trends in the Nonfuel Minerals Industry of Iran

plant to produce copper cathodes (Burton, 2014; Iran International Magazine, 2015, p. 38). In addition to 42,500 t 

of copper concentrate, NICICO produced about 381 t of 

molybdenum concentrate and 53 t of sludge containing gold 

and silver in Sarcheshmeh in April 2014 (Minews, 2015e).

In October 2015, NICICO signed an investment agreement with the Middle East Mineral Industries and Mines 

Development Holding Co. (MIDHCO), Mahan Industries 

and Mines Development Corp., and Mofid Economic Group 

for the construction of the 100,000-t/yr Chah Firouzeh 

copper concentrator plant in Kermān Province, southwestern 

Iran. The plant, which would be 65-percent owned by the 

three privately owned companies, was expected to begin 

operating by 2019 (National Iranian Copper Industries Co., 

2015a). In February 2016, NICICO signed a memorandum 

of understanding with Germany’s Mansfelder Kupfer und 

Messing GmbH (MKM) on a $1.1 billion investment in the 

development of downstream copper fabrication capacity 

in Iran and the delivery of 70,000 t/yr of copper cathode to 

MKM (National Iranian Copper Industries Co., 2016a). In 

April 2016, NICICO announced that owing to low prevailing 

global copper prices, it would scale back its plans to increase 

production to 700,000 t/yr of copper in concentrate in the near 

future; however, it still aimed to reach 420,000 t/yr by 2020. 

The company exported about 40 percent of its concentrate 

production in 2015 instead of processing it into cathode 

owing to relatively high labor costs that prevailed in domestic 

smelting and refining (National Iranian Copper Industries 

Co., 2016b). 

Gold

Iran was a minor producer of gold in the MENA region 

and globally, producing at levels substantially lower than 

those of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey in 2014 (Reichl 

and others, 2016, p. 151–152; Mowafa Taib, U.S. Geological 

Survey, unpub. data, 2016). The country’s production of gold 

increased by 32 percent from 2013 to about 3.3 t in 2014 

(fig. 3). To reach the Government’s 2025 target output of 10 t 

of gold, an average annual growth rate of 11 percent would 

be required starting in 2015, one-third of the 33 percent 

registered in the previous decade, when Iran’s gold production had been very small (table 2, fig. 3; Iranian Mines and 

Mining Investment Development and Renovation Organization, 2015a, p. 13). IMIDRO planned to further increase 

production to 6 t/yr of gold in 2017 by commissioning the 

Zarshouran and Sari Gunay Mines. The Agh Darreh, Muteh, 

and Sari Gunay Mines had probable reserves of 30 t, 14 t, and 

63 t, respectively (Ghorbani, 2013, p. 322). Ore reserves in 

Zarshouran were estimated at 11.5 Mt with an average grade 

of 7.9 grams per metric ton (g/t) gold, equivalent to 91 t of 

gold, which would make the mine the largest in Iran once it 

becomes fully operational. Pilot gold production began at the 

Zarshouran Mine in September 2014. In November 2014, 

the Zarshouran refinery began operating with a production 

capacity of 3 t/yr of gold, 1 t/yr of mercury, and 2.5 t/yr of 

silver (Mines & Mining Industries English Magazine, 2015; 

Mukhopadhyay, 2015). Gold extraction was expected to start 

in Sari Gunay in 2015 with a metal output target of 2 t/yr by 

2016; average grade of reserves was about 1.6 g/t gold (Press 

TV, 2015f). The completion of the mine by Zar Kuh Mining 

Co. had been delayed in September 2013 and then again in 

October 2014, but production could eventually exceed 3 t/yr 

of gold (Minews, 2015c).

Iron and Steel

Iron Ore.—Iran was the leading iron ore and directreduced iron (DRI) producer in the MENA region (World 

Steel Association, 2015, p. 97, 102; Reichl and others, 2016, 

p. 135; U.S. Geological Survey, 2016, p. 91; Mowafa Taib, 

U.S. Geological Survey, unpub. data, 2016). In 2014, the 

country’s production of iron ore concentrate remained at 

48.5 Mt, of which 21 Mt was pelletized iron ore (Karbasian, 

2014, p. 4; World Steel Association, 2015, p. 102). DRI 

output remained at 14.6 Mt, whereas pig iron output increased 

by 39 percent to 2.8 Mt (World Steel Association, 2015, 

p. 91, 97). Iran’s iron ore production has nearly tripled over 

the past 10 years and continues to grow at an annual rate of 

10 percent; if sustained, the rate of growth would be sufficient 

to meet the Government’s 2025 target output of 66.2 Mt of 

iron ore (table 2; fig. 3 Karbasian, 2014, p. 4). In 2014, Iran 

exported 21.8 Mt of iron ore, making it the ninth-leading 

exporter globally (World Steel Association, 2015, p. 103). 

Exports were projected to decrease to less than 10 Mt by 

2017 owing to increased consumption of iron ore by domestic 

steel producers and declining global prices (Serapio, 2015). 

Most of Iran’s iron ore exports were received by China. In 

2015, exports to China decreased by 40 percent from 2014 

to 13.2 Mt owing primarily to prevailing low global iron ore 

prices (Financial Tribune, 2016a).

There were 156 iron ore mines in operation in 2014; 

however, 8 mines accounted for about 86 percent of Iran’s 

total reserves. The Sangan, Gol-e-Gohar, and Chadormalu 

Mines, in which IMIDRO owned minority shares, were the 

largest iron ore mines operating in the MENA region with 

reserves of 1.2 Gt, 1.0 Gt, and 0.2 Gt, respectively (table 1; 

Karbasian, 2014, p. 9). In March 2015, IMIDRO announced 

the discovery of 200 Mt in new iron ore reserves at the 

Sangan Mine (Mining.com, 2015). The leading producers 

of iron ore were Chadormalu Mining & Industrial Co., 

Gol-e-Gohar Iron Ore Co., and Iran Central Iron Ore Co. 

(table 1; Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development 

and Renovation Organization, 2012; Press TV, 2015e). 

Privately owned iron ore mines had a total capacity of 

12 Mt/yr. As almost all of their output was exported, they 

accounted for about 20 percent of domestic production, 

but nearly half of Iran’s iron ore exports in 2014 (Angel, 

2015). Approximately 70 percent of private capacity went 

offline from late 2014, when about 6 Mt of capacity had shut 
Mineral Commodity Review 11

down, to early 2016 owing to low prevailing global iron ore 

prices, lack of export competitiveness caused by operational 

costs, and increase in mining royalty enacted in March 2015 

(Financial Tribune, 2014, 2016a; Thomson Reuters, 2015). 

Iran’s production of iron ore pellets and DRI was 

projected to increase with the construction of multiple new 

iron facilities. In addition, the Gol-e Gohar and Sangan 

Mines planned to initiate pellet production in March 2016, 

increasing capacity by more than 5 Mt/yr, which would 

reduce the country’s reliance on imports. In February 2016, 

Danieli Group of Italy and IMIDRO launched the Persian 

Metallics project with an output target of 6 Mt/yr of pellets 

for steelmaking using electric arc furnace (EAF) technology 

in southern Iran (Moggridge, 2016a; Press TV, 2016a). Also 

as of February 2016, KIOCL Ltd. of India planned to build 

an iron ore pellet complex with a capacity of 1.1 Mt/yr and 

Hormozgan Steel Co. planned to nearly double the capacity 

of its DRI plant in Bandar ‘Abbās, Hormozgān Province, to 

3 Mt/yr (table 1; Das and Serapio, 2016; Havasi, 2016). 

Steel.—Iran was the second-leading steelmaker in the 

MENA region after Turkey (World Steel Association, 2015, 

p. 1–2; Mowafa Taib, U.S. Geological Survey, unpub. data, 

2016); however, one-half of its downstream industry either 

produced below capacity or remained nonoperational in 

early 2016 (Frost & Sullivan, 2016). In 2014, the country’s 

production of crude steel increased by 6 percent to 16.3 Mt 

(World Steel Association, 2015, p. 2, 2016). About 83 percent 

of steel production was based on electric arc furnace (EAF) 

technology (World Steel Association, 2015, p. 18). To reach 

the Government’s 2025 target output of 52 Mt of crude steel, 

an average annual growth rate of 11 percent would be required 

starting in 2015 compared with 7 percent registered in the 

previous decade (table 2, fig. 3; Iranian Mines and Mining 

Investment Development and Renovation Organization, 

2015a, p. 13). It would also require Iran to boost its production 

capacity of iron ore concentrate to 53.5 Mt from the current 

44 Mt; sponge iron, to 58 Mt from 26 Mt; and pellets, to 

88 Mt from 28 Mt (World Steel Association 2015, p. 54, 60, 

65, 70). In 2014, Iran exported 1.54 Mt of steel products 

including ingots and flat, long, semifinished and finished 

products (World Steel Association, 2015, p. 54, 60, 65, 70). 

The country’s steel exports were expected to reach 7 Mt at 

the maximum in 2025 (Havasi, 2016). 

Iran’s leading steel-producing companies were 

Mobarakeh Steel Co., Khouzestan Steel Co., and Esfahan 

Steel Co, with market shares of 47 percent, 23 percent, and 

20 percent, respectively (table 1; Tasnim News Agency, 2015). 

Esfahan Steel Co., the sole user of blast furnace technology 

in Iran, had a total capacity of 3.6 Mt/yr (Yazdizadeh, 2016). 

IMIDRO planned four major plant construction projects in 

order to increase the sector’s production capacity, including 

multiple steel plants in Bandar ‘Abbās (Moggridge, 2016b) 

and the Arvand free trade zone (FTZ) (Financial Tribune, 

2015c), with total crude steel capacities of 2.4 Mt/yr and 

5 Mt/yr, respectively, and plants in Chābahār (Jin, 2016) and 

the Island of Qeshm (Karbasian, 2015, p. 5), with capacities 

of 1.6 Mt/yr each (Karbasian, 2015, p. 5; Mehr News Agency, 

2015). The joint construction of three new steel plants along 

Iran’s southern coast by Kish South Kaveh Steel Co. (SKS), 

Arvand Jahanara Steel Co., and Kuwait’s United Steel 

Industrial Co. was planned in order to turn the Arvand FTZ 

into Iran’s steel production and export hub with its own 

powerplants for energy self-sufficiency (table 1; Bozorgmehr, 

2015; Financial Tribune, 2015c). 

Three new steelmaking projects were launched in 

Iran in 2016. In February, SKS launched the second phase 

of its project to double total production capacity of three 

steel plants in Bandar ‘Abbās to 2.4 Mt/yr (Moggridge, 

2016b). The company expected to complete the expansion in 

March 2017 (Mostafazan Foundation, 2016), at which point 

it would account for about 10 percent of Iran’s annual steel 

production. Also in February 2016, POSCO of Republic of 

Korea signed an agreement with Pars Kohan Diarparsian 

Steel (PKP) to begin the joint construction of a 1.6-Mt/yr 

steel plant in Chābahār in 2017 and to add facilities for the 

production of cold-rolled and galvanized steel in 2019. In 

April 2016, Danieli signed an agreement with Butia Iranian 

Steel Co. (BISCO) to jointly construct a 1.5-Mt/yr steel 

plant (table 1; Jin, 2016; Karimov, 2016; Moggridge, 2016b; 

Mostafazan Foundation, 2016). 

Lead and Zinc

Iran was the second-leading producer of lead and zinc 

in the MENA region after Turkey, although it was a minor 

producer globally (Reichl and others, 2016, p. 146, 150; 

Mowafa Taib, U.S. Geological Survey, unpub. data, 2016). 

In 2014, the country produced 700,000 t of zinc and lead 

concentrates as well as 142,000 t and 72,000 t of zinc and lead 

ingots, respectively. To reach the Government’s 2025 target 

output of 300,000 t of zinc, an average annual growth rate 

of 7 percent would be required starting in 2015, more than 

double the 3 percent registered in the previous decade (table 2, 

fig. 3; Iranian Mines and Mining Investment Development 

and Renovation Organization, 2015a, p. 13). Processors used 

only 35 to 40 percent of their 2-Mt/yr total capacity owing to 

insufficient ore production at mines. The total refining capacity 

of 60 active processing units in the country was 450,000 t/yr 

of zinc ingots and 420,000 t/yr of lead ingots. Iran exported 

more than half of its zinc and lead ingot output. In 2014, 

exports amounted to 80,900 t of zinc ingots and 60,400 t 

of lead ingots, whereas imports were only 630 t and 500 t, 

respectively (Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade, 2014, 

p. 32, 34; Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development 

and Renovation Organization, 2015b; Minews, 2015d).

Iran’s two largest zinc mines were Mehdiabad with 

reserves of 160 Mt of ore grading at 2 percent zinc and 

Angouran, with reserves of 9 Mt of ore grading at 26 percent 

zinc and 6 percent lead (Iranian Mines and Mining Industries 

Development and Renovation Organization, 2015b; Minews, 

2015f). The Mehdiabad Mine was planned to become Iran’s 

main supplier to the domestic industry upon the extraction of 
12 Recent Trends in the Nonfuel Minerals Industry of Iran

all zinc deposits in Angouran. The capacity of the Angouran 

Mine was increased from 0.7 Mt/yr to 1 Mt/yr (Minews, 

2015b) in 2014 by Calcimin Co. In 2015, a total of 750,000 t 

of zinc and lead ore was projected to be extracted at the 

mine through both open pit and underground mining; at 

that rate, its reserves would be exhausted by 2027 (Iran 

Minerals Production and Supply Co., 2015a; Minews, 2015a). 

Angouran’s ore was processed by 78 zinc and lead plants 

located in the vicinity of the mine in Zanjān Province, most 

of which were relatively small. The three largest processors 

were Calcimin Co. with 500,000 t/yr of zinc and 30,000 t/yr of 

lead capacity, Zangan Zinc Industry LLP with 250,000 t/yr of 

zinc capacity, and Zanjan Zinc Khales Sazan Industries Co.’s 

200,000 t/yr of zinc and 20,000 t/yr of lead capacity (Iran Zinc 

Mines Development Co., undated, p. 2, 15; Zanjan Zinc Khales 

Sazan Industrial Group, 2016). In March 2015, operations 

resumed at the Mehdiabad Mine after a $1 billion investment 

by Mehdiabad Zinc Co., a subsidiary of Karoun Dez Dasht 

(K.D.D.) Group, which had a 25-year extraction license to 

the site (Minews, 2015d). The mine’s processing unit had a 

current capacity of 100,000 t/yr of zinc concentrate, which 

was planned to be increased to at least 800,000 t/yr (Minews, 

2015d; Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and 

Renovation Organization, 2016). Mehdiabad Zinc continued 

waste stripping operations in the Mehdiabad Mine. The 

company planned to strip 180 Mt of waste from the mine, 

whereas only 10 Mt had been stripped in the previous six 

decades (Minews, 2015d). The company Mehdiabad Zinc 

also planned to build a processing unit near the mine with a

capacity of 100,000 t/yr of zinc and lead ingots by 2018 (table 1;

Financial Tribune, 2015b, e; Karbasian, 2015; Minews, 

2015a, d; Mobin Mining and Construction Co., 2016b).

Rare-Earth Elements

Iran produced rare-earth elements on an experimental 

scale. In February 2016, the National Research Center for 

Minerals located in Alborz Province produced samples 

containing cerium oxide, lanthanum oxide, mischmetal (a 

combination of light rare-earth elements), neodymium oxide, 

praseodymium oxide, and yttrium oxide. In April 2016, plans 

were announced to begin extracting rare-earth elements as 

byproducts of uranium mining. IMIDRO began exploration 

for rare-earth elements and the identification of potential targets 

in 2014 in order to attract foreign investment and technology 

for rare-earths processing in Iran. Identified deposits with 

rare-earth mineralization include (1) low-thorium hydrothermal 

monazite associated with iron oxide-apatite deposits in the 

Bāfq mining district of central Iran, (2) monazite associated 

with a heavy-mineral placer deposit in Marvast, southern Yazd 

Province, and (3) apatite in the Esfordi, Gazestan, Lakeh-Siah, 

and Zarigan deposits of the Posht-e-Badam Block in central 

Iran (Ghorbani, 2013; Scientific Quarterly Journal, 2013; Iran 

International Magazine, 2015; Mehr News Agency, 2016; 

Tasnim News Agency, 2016b).

Outlook

Iran’s nonfuel mineral output is expected to increase 

in the post-sanctions era as new deposits are identified or 

developed across the country and facility capacities are 

expanded with a view towards diversification of the economy 

away from hydrocarbons. In particular, the production of 

aluminum, alumina, bauxite, copper, gold, iron ore, lead, 

steel, and zinc may increase as a result of the identification of 

mineral deposits in previously unexplored areas, construction 

and (or) expansion of mineral extraction and processing 

complexes, and upgrading of existing mines and facilities 

as planned by the Government. Research is being officially 

funded for the development other nonfuel mineral resources, 

such as rare-earth elements contained in iron-oxidephosphate deposits (Mehr News Agency, 2016). Recovery 

of byproduct minerals contained in copper ore, such as 

molybdenum and other metals, may add value to existing 

mining operations. The lifting of international sanctions 

on Iran is expected to result in higher inflows of foreign 

direct investment into the country’s mineral sector. As of 

June 2016, IMIDRO was in talks with Australia’s Rio Tinto 

Group, Switzerland’s Glencore plc, Netherland’s Trafigura 

Beheer BV, and Germany’s Aurubis AG on the development 

of new aluminum, copper, gold, and steel projects in Iran 

(Els, 2016; Press TV, 2016b) and NICICO sought foreign 

investment in 16 copper production capacity expansion 

projects (National Iranian Copper Industries Co, 2016b). 

Whether annual mineral commodity production increases 

as rapidly as envisioned by the Government will depend 

largely on integration of modern technology into facilities; 

provision of energy to aluminum, copper, and steel plants at 

competitive prices to international investors; stabilization of, 

or increase in, global metal prices for aluminum, copper, and 

zinc; and growth of exports in the face of competition for 

foreign markets by other major mineral producers, such as 

Turkey and the Persian Gulf countries. Iran’s predominantly 

young, educated workforce may contribute to the country’s 

minerals industry through labor force, technology, and 

demand factors (Mottahedi and Mottahedi, 2012; Iran 

International Magazine, 2015).

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to gratefully acknowledge the 

many valuable suggestions of Mowafa Taib, Thomas Yager, 

Nedal Nassar, Daniel Edelstein, John DeYoung, Steve Textoris,

and Steve Fortier, who helped make this Circular a much 

better publication, and thank Mr. Taib, Mr. Textoris, and 

Mr. Fortier for their constant support throughout the 

preparation of its manuscript and figures. 
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Manuscript approved June 24, 2016

Prepared by the USGS Science Publishing Network

Reston Publishing Service Center

 Edited by Natalie Juda

 Illustrations and layout by Caryl J. Wipperfurth

For more information concerning this report, 

please contact:

Director, National Minerals Information Center

U.S. Geological Survey

12201 Sunrise Valley Drive

988 National Center

Reston, VA 20192

Email: nmicrecordsmgt@usgs.gov

Or visit the USGS Minerals Information Web site at

http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/
Hastorun and others—Recent Trends in the Nonfuel Minerals Industry of Iran—Circular 1421

ISSN 1067-084X (print)

ISSN 2330-5703 (online)

http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/cir1421 Printed on recycled paper