TEHRAN- Production of copper cathode in Iran increased six percent during the first half of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-September 21), compared to the same period of time in the previous year.

Copper cathode output hit 139,899 tons in the first six months of the present year, while the predicted figure was 130,015 tons.

Monthly copper cathode production in the sixth month of this year was 24,198 tons, 10 percent higher than the figure of the same month in the previous year.

Production of copper cathode, which stood at 250,000 tons in the past Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20), is planned to reach 280,000 tons in the present year.

In early May, four development projects worth 40 trillion rials (about $952.3 million) were inaugurated in the copper sector of Kerman Province in the southeast of Iran.

President Hassan Rouhani put the projects into operation through video conference.

The projects inaugurated in Khatoon Abad Copper Complex included increasing the capacity of copper smelting in the complex, building a copper concentrate storage, construction of a sulfuric acid production plant, and an oxygen supplying unit. 

By putting the first project into operation, the complex’s capacity for producing copper anode rises by 50 percent to 120,000 tons, and the country’s copper smelting capacity rose to 400,000 tons. This project creates jobs for 120 persons.

Some 1.11 trillion rials (about $26.4 million) plus $118 million have been invested for this project.

The second project, which was the construction of a 60,000-ton storage facility, was implemented at the cost of 158 billion rials (about $3.7 million) plus three million euros, creating jobs for 250 people.

The third project was valued at 750 billion rials (about $17.8 million) plus 100 million euros and the fourth one was put into operation at the cost of 192 billion rials (about $4.5 million) plus 31 million euros.

Iran has seen its copper exports doubled in the past Iranian calendar year despite a series of bitter sanctions imposed by the United States aimed at hampering the Islamic Republic’s trade of lucrative metals.

MA/MA