Iranian aluminum smelters have reported a major surge in their output in the first half of the calendar year starting late March, according to figures by Iran’s state metals and mining holdings IMIDRO.
IMIDRO figures covered in Thursday report by the ISNA news agency showed that four Iranian smelters had churned out a total of 318,091 metric tons (mt) of aluminum ingot in the six months to September 22.
The figure is an increase of 22.5% compared with March-September 2021 when IMIDRO had reported a half year output of 259,574 mt.
The South Aluminum Corporation (Salco), Iran’s largest smelter which launched only three years ago, was responsible for 137,351 or over 43% of Iran’s total aluminum output in the six months to late September, showed the figures.
They showed that the March-September production at Iran’s second and third largest aluminum smelters Iralco and Almahdi reached 88,111 mt and 74,543 mt, respectively.
Iran’s production of alumina powder, the key ingredient in aluminum manufacturing process, rose just 2% year on year in the six months to late September to reach 118,845 mt, according to the IMIDRO figures.
Iran’s Alumina Company is the single producer of alumina powder and bauxite, the main aluminum ore, in the country.
IMIDRO figures showed that bauxite production in the company had declined against March-September 2021 to stand at 261,009 mt.