Iran’s Aluminum Output Hits Record High: IMIDRO


TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran has reported a record in aluminum output amid upgrade programs by smelters and better supply of feedstock.

Iran’s Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) said in a statement that aluminum ingot production by four major steel producers in the country reached a total of 169,141 metric tons (mt) in the first three months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21 to June 21, 2024).

The record output shows an increase of nearly 1.5% from the same quarter last year, said IMIDRO.

Iran’s South Aluminum Company (SALCO) was responsible for 71,363 mt of the country’s total aluminum ingot production in the three months to late June, the figures showed.

SALCO came on line in 2018 as part of the Iranian government’s plans to boost aluminum production and to create jobs for the youth population in Iran’s southern province of Fars.

The company owns Iran’s largest aluminum smelter and its annual exports have reached 75,000 mt in recent years.

The IMIDRO statement said that aluminum ingot production at Iran’s second largest smelter IRALCO, located in the city of Arak in central Iran, had reached 46,670 mt in the June quarter, adding that the Al-Mahdi Aluminum had churned out 41,703 mt of ingot over the same period.

Al-Mahdi is located in the southern province of Hormozgan on the Persian Gulf coast, Press TV reported. 

Its CEO said earlier this week that increased production at the smelter over the June quarter was mainly due to better feedstock supplies and upgrade and renovation programs executed by the company.

The Iran Alumina company produced 9,405 mt of aluminum in the three months to late June, IMIDRO said.

Iran Alumina, a relatively small smelter located in northeast Iran, is the largest supplier of aluminum feedstock in the country.

IMIDRO said that the company had produced 57,639 mt of alumina powder, the main ingredient in aluminum production, some 97,746 mt of aluminum hydroxide and 180,448 mt of bauxite (aluminum ore) over the three months to late June.