Minews - Iran to launch anode manufacturing factory

(Minews) - The managing director of Iranian Aluminium Company has said launching of anode manufacturing factory would bring $54mn to the economy in saving costs of import.

Hamid Badkoubeh told a press conference on Tuesday that construction of the anode manufacturing unit would be started in late May in Kheirabad and would produce 100K tons of aluminium anode to provide Iran’s Aluminium Complex demands for anode and cut the dependence on imported anode.

“With each ton of aluminium anode having a price of $600, the unit will bring the country $54mn in saving costs of imports; the unit will be completed by 24 months and will incorporate the most up-to-date technology and facilities,” he added.

Badkoubeh also said that China and Russia would suffer losses with the unit operating, since these two are the major exporters of aluminium anode to Iran; “IRALCO produced 170,000 tons of aluminium and a net profit of $54mn by the fiscal year ending on March 21, 2015, which have been quite an achievement under sanctions and the difficulties accessing the raw material; according to the EU, IRALCO had been put in sanctions list; we filed a lawsuit in a EU court to lift the sanctions on the company,” Badkoubeh detailed, “now we continue the efforts to advance the agenda by more progresses in nuclear negotiations.”

“A government bill required that the aluminium producing ovens be covered with lids to help protect the environment; during an agreement with China, we had 75 ovens put lid by the first half of the past Iranian solar year, and by the end of the year, 75 ovens phased out of production cycle,” Badkoubeh told the press.

He also pointed to production of special metals with applications in aerospace and missile industries, albeit with lower face quality due to the long years of service in casting metals, but with excellent quality in terms of alloys. “We project to operate for the first time four new casting workshops in the first half of the current solar year; on Monday, an agreement with an Indian company specializing in providing raw material to produce aluminium was signed to export 200,000 tons of raw material in competitive price, which would be delivered through Imam Khomeini (RA) port,” he added.