(Minews) - The rapid growth in aluminum output in the first month of the current Iranian calendar year (ended April 20) has brought hope that the country may graduate from the current 19th biggest global aluminum producer to the 17th, ISNA reported.
The statistics provided by the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) show during the past four decades, only 200,000 metric tons has been added to the country’s aluminum output. However, experts believe recent plans to increase the production capacity will provide a boost to the aluminum industry this year.
The three major aluminum companies; namely Iralco, Almahdi, and Hormozal produced 31,376 tons of aluminum (ingot, alloy and chips) in the first month of this Iranian year, which registered a 5% increase in comparison with the similar month last year.
This is while Iran Alumina Company produced 21,394 tons of alumina, as the main raw material to produce aluminum, during the period and registered a 6% growth compared to last year’s similar month. The company also produced 36,370 tons of aluminum hydrate as well as 13,599 tons of lime which indicated 6 and 4% increase respectively.
Iran was the 22nd biggest aluminum producer back in 2011 while it graduated to 20th in 2012 and currently it is the 19th global producer. The National 2025 Vision Plan requires the aluminum sector to increase the annual output to at least 1.5 million tons of ingots. If the development plans will be carried in time, Iran will be able to overtake Oman, as the 17th biggest producer.
Aluminum consumption per capita in Iran, with a population of 80 million and a GDP of $10,274, is currently at 4.8 kilograms. Based on the 2025 Vision Plan and the development plans in the aluminum industry, the figure should increase to more than 7 kilograms in 2020 and 10.8 kilograms in 2025.
