Iran’s annual steel output to hit 35m tons

Iran’s steel production will increase to 35 million tons by March 20, 2019, said the head of Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO).

Mehdi Karbasian underlined that currently steel production stands at 32 million tons whereas the figure was 21 million tons in 2013, Fars News Agency reported.

“Last year, Iran’s steel exports hit a record high of $9 billion,” he said, adding that Iran’s domestic consumption is 16 million tons and the surplus is exported.

On Sunday, Iran’s Industry Minister Mohammad Shariatmadari announced that steel production capacity has increased by 80 million tons in the past several years.

“Iran raised steel production capacity from 122 million tons to over 200 million tons since 2013,” Shariatmadari said, addressing the inaugural ceremony for concentration and pelletizing plant of Southeast Mill Industry and Mine Complex in Siriz, Zarand in Kerman Province.

The minister underlined that Iran is one of world’s major steel producers and said, “Without exaggeration, we have final say in the world in terms of producing sponge iron.”

The concentration and pelletizing plant with a capacity of one million tons will be implemented by the private sector in an area of 50 hectares.