The Der Alo mine in Kerman province of Iran will increase the country’s copper concentrate output by 130,000mt annually, according to media reports quoting the National Iranian Copper Industries Company.
The copper mine will be operational from the next Iranian year (March 2021-22) as most of the equipment and machinery have been purchased and installed. The project targets sustainable extraction of 7mn mt copper sulfide ore per year. The mine’s copper reserve is estimated to be around 150mn mt.
The company’s copper cathode and anode production is expected to double to 550,000mt and 666,000mt, respectively, in the next 10 years with an investment of about €2.5mn ($2.95mn) plus IRR248bn ($1.08mn).
With the development of Der Alo Copper Mine, Darezar Copper Mine, and Khatunabad mine and new explorations, Iran’s copper reserves are expected to last at least till the next 100 years. Iran has the world’s ninth-largest copper reserves and holds about 4bn mt of estimated copper reserves.
($1 = IRR42,072.13, €0.84)