IRANIAN Industrial Minerals - IndMin

Iranian Industrial MineralsAn exciting future for the industry

Iranian Industrial MineralsAn exciting future for the industry

By:Dr. Alireza Ganji

Economic Geologist, Adviser of Industrial Minerals Committee, Iran Mine House (IMH)

Outline• Introduction

• The main Iranian industrial minerals

• Geology of Iran’s industrial minerals resources

• Production of the main industrial minerals in Iran

• Challenges & opportunities in Iran's industrial minerals sector

Introduction• Introduction of Iran Mine House

Iran Mine House (IMH) is a non‐governmental organization which was established by a group ofrenowned entrepreneurs and experts of the Iran mine sector, keeping pace with Clause “K” of Article“5” of the Islamic Republic of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Mining Act, on early 2002, andwas registered at the Chamber of Commerce (Reg. No. 163).

Voice of Iranian Mines and Mining Industries

Introduction• Iran Mine House goals:

1) Improving scientific and technological know‐how in mineral production

2) Optimizing the performance of mines, as well as processing and industrial units

3) Establishing new mineral processing units

4) Improving technical operations and developing mining industries

5) Marketing and laying ground for active presence in the international markets

6) Facilitating the exchange of information and expertise amongst the members of Iran Mine House and other research institutions or mine organizations in or outside the country

7) Developing information databases on mines, minerals, processing units and mining industries

8) Convening conferences at national and international levels

9) Publishing scientific/technical books and periodicals

10) Organizing training courses

11) Organizing specialized exhibitions at national and international levels


12) Establishing non‐governmental funds for development of minerals exports

13) Collaborating with government in formulating laws and regulations concerning mines, minerals and the related industries

14) Survey, analysis and participation in planning activities related to mining and processing industries

15) Providing support for the members and their vested interests in the domestic and international judiciary

16) Establishment and strengthening of the statistical system and quality control in mines and mining industries

17) Establishment of organizations and institutions for providing general and specialized services in the fields of finance, credit, commerce, insurance etc.

18) Collaboration with other non‐government mine organizations to develop the mine sector of the country

19) Collaborating in preparing the country’s Mining Strategy


20) Pursuing the allocation of funds to mine sector in the annual budget

21) Cooperation with Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Mines (ICCIM) on subjects relating to mining activities in the Mine Commission of the Chamber (which is chaired by a board member of IMH)

22) Cooperation with Majlis (Iran Parliament) and its associated institutions and organizations (e.g. Majlis Research Center) to review mine related legislations

23) Facilitating participation of mine experts in World Mining Congress

24) Active participation in specialized mine events that are convened annually as well as publication of special issues of mine literatures for the occasions

25) Establishing representative offices in various provinces

26) Collaboration in alleviating various issues faced by the mine societies and pursuing the interests of IMH members

IntroductionIran Mine House has set up a number of specialized committees to achieve the above‐mentioned aims and objectives as well as to alleviate the issues faced by the mining industry. Thecommittees try to update the mining activities in line with the latest technical, economic andsocial status enjoyed by the international mining community. Twenty‐two such committees arecurrently tackling various fields of mining activities, such as Industrial Minerals Committee whichis activated in the field of Iranian industrial minerals mines.

The main Iranian industrial minerals• Iran ranks 10th in the world for mineral variety, with 68 types of minerals estimated to be worth US$700 billion.

• Iran is the 15th largest mineral holder globally with 37 billion tons of proven reserves and 57 billion tons of probable reserves.

• Iran’s mining sector comprises over 5000 active mines and employs over 620,000 people.

• In 2014, Iran with production of 29,467,156 tons of industrial minerals ranked 8th in the world, after China, USA, India, Canada, Turkey, Russia and Germany, and produced 3.76% of world production

The main Iranian industrial mineralsBarite

Bauxite

Bentonite

Bitumen (Gilsonite)

Boron

Calcium Carbonate

Celestite

Chromite

Clays

Crushed Stone

Diatomite

Dolomite

Feldspar

Fire Clay

Fluorspar

Garnet

Gypsum

Huntite

Iodine

4th rank after Chaina, Morocco, India

9th rank after USA, Chaina, Turkey, India, Greece, Mexico, Russia, Japan

3rd rank after USA, Canada

9th rank after Turkey, USA, Argentina, Chile, Peru, China, Bolivia, Kazakhestan

7th rank after Turkey, Germany, Italy, China, Thailand, India

9th rank after China, Mexico, Mongolia, South Africa, Bulgaria, Spain, Kenya, Morocco

2nd rank after China

*5th rank after Chile, Japan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan

Production (tons, in 2014)

671,316

419,693

42,272

180

1,128,569

78,736

19,550,120

187

World Ranking(Based on World‐Mining‐Data, Published by International Organizing Committee for WMC, 2016)

Industrial Minerals

The main Iranian industrial minerals

KaolinLimestoneMagnesiteMarlMicaNepheline SyeniteOcherPerlitePhosphate RockPotashPumiceRealgar & OrpimentSaltSand & GravelSilicaSodium SulfateSulfurTalcTitanium MineralsZeolite

11th rank after China, Turkey, Russia, Slovakia, Austria, Spain, Australia, Brazil, Greece, India, North Korea

8th rank after Greece, Turkey, USA, Japan, Armenia, Thailand, Russia

11th rank after China, USA, Russia, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Kazakhestan, India, UAE, Qatar

Industrial Minerals World Ranking(Based on World‐Mining‐Data, Published by International Organizing Committee for WMC, 2016)

165,886

42,646

11,283

Production (tons, in 2014)

Geology of Iran’s Industrial Minerals Resources From a global tectonic point of view, Iran is part of the Alpine–Himalayan orogenic belt that extends from Atlantic Ocean to Western Pacific.

1) Sedimentary & Metamorphic rocks (Precambrian‐Recent)

2) Sedimentary & Metamorphic & Ophiolitic rocks (Mesozoic)

3) Magmatic and Metamorphic rocks (Paleozoic and Mesozoic)

4) Magmatic and Volcanic Igneous rocks (Cenozoic)

5) Sedimentary & Igneous rocks (Precambrian to Cenozoic)

6) Sedimentary & Igneous & Metamorphic rocks (Paleozoic to Cenozoic)

7) Metamorphic & Sedimentary & Volcanic rocks (Mesozoic–Eocene)

8) Sedimentary(clastic) & Ophioliticrocks (Mesozoic)

9) Sedimentary(carbonates) rocks (Mesozoic)

10) Ophiolitic & Sedimentary rocks (Upper Mesozoic to Paleocene)

• Iran subdivided to 10 main geostructural zones including

1. Zagros fold belt2. Zagros thrust3. Sanandaj‐Sirjan zone4. Urmieh‐Dokhtar zone5. Alborz Mountains6. Central Iran7. Lut block8. Eastern Iran9. Kopeh Dagh Mountain10. Makran zone

Geology of Iran’s Industrial Minerals Resources

The especial geological setting of Iran caused various types of industrial minerals resources have been formed in the country.


Distribution map of Clastic Sedimentaryrocks in Iran which are host rocks for clays(including; fire clays, ball clays, ceramicclays, brick clays, earthenware clays,…) +crushed stones + sand & gravel + silica +phosphate resources


Distribution map of Igneous rocks in Iranwhich are host rocks for barite + clays(including; kaolins, illitic clays, smectiteclays and bentonites) + crushed stones +feldspars + Nepheline syenite + Perlite +Pumice + Zeolite resources


Distribution map of hydrothermal alterationzones in Iran which are host rocke for clays(including; kaolins, illitic & smectite clays) +realgar & orpiment + silica + sulfur + zeoliteresources


Distribution map of metamorphic zones inIran which are host rocks for barite +garnet + mica + silica + talc resources


Distribution map of carbonate rocks in Iranwhich are host rocks for barite + bauxite +gilsonite + calcium carbonate (limestone) +dolomite + fluorspar resoyrces


Distribution map of Ophiolitic rocks in Iranwhich are host rocks for chromite + huntite+ magnesite + talc + titanium mineralsresources


Production of the main industrial minerals in Iran

Barite 110 42 5 157 1485 671,316 882,831 104,087 1 6 150

Bauxite 12 3 1 16 615 540,003 910,000 20,643 2 3 11

Bentonite 107 24 1 132 628 419,693 1,156,101 44,925 0 7 125

Bitumen (Gilsonite) 25 9 5 39 369 42,272 84,082 1,349,852 0 0 39

Boron 3 2 0 5 19 180 5,500 44 0 0 5

Calcium Carbonate 18 12 1 31 269 90,035 297,500 18,391 1 1 29

Celestite 15 4 3 22 117 106,001 311,250 7,071 0 2 20

Chromite 80 23 1 104 3672 367,332 523,575 10,276 0 2 102

Clays 226 101 17 344 2306 2,984,462 4,921,350 826,112 0 16 328

Crushed Stone 1515 730 63 2308 16703 53,814,516 152,675,680 8,391,820 1 138 2169

Diatomite 3 1 0 4 24 9,912 17,500 1,732 0 0 4

Dolomite 47 17 0 64 452 862,549 1,943,600 457,802 1 3 60

Feldspar 99 55 2 156 911 1,128,569 2,518,200 91,367 0 3 153

Fire Clay 65 10 3 78 415 2,840,289 3,598,200 371,326 0 6 72

Fluorspar 23 8 2 33 431 78,736 200,700 3,422 0 3 30

Garnet 9 4 0 13 218 27,131 265,511 4,112 0 1 12

Gypsum 422 156 15 593 4013 19,550,120 33,066,130 1,940,561 1 118 474

Huntite 4 1 1 6 54 280 4,760 65 0 1 5

Iodine 1 0 0 1 21 187 130 3 0 0 1

Kaolin 35 17 3 55 441 820,067 1,296,550 68,620 0 5 50

Industrial MineralsThe Number of Mines

EmploymentProduction (tpy)

Reserves (1000t)Ownership

Active Inactive Equipping Total Actual Nominal State Cooperative Private

Production of the main industrial minerals in Iran

Limestone 531 137 28 696 8286 109,067,832 146,000,100 15,275,660 7 45 644Magnesite 37 9 3 49 390 165,886 277,578 15,398 0 4 45Marl 0 3 1 4 76 3,000 1,663,000 1,036,541 0 1 3Mica 7 6 0 13 94 4,617 68,520 15,804 0 1 12Nepheline Syenite 2 1 0 3 222 2,075,000 2,075,000 5,296,000 0 0 3Ocher 7 4 0 11 105 133,519 255,100 16,089 0 1 10Perlite 12 9 0 21 117 42,646 105,750 73,278 0 0 21Phosphate Rock 2 0 3 5 260 121,756 925,000 98,902 2 0 3Potash 2 1 1 4 208 4,497,391 1,352,000 545,300 1 0 3Pumice 169 65 0 234 1500 6,308,510 7,754,523 382,940 0 13 221Realgar & Orpiment 1 2 0 3 36 3,000 18,150 80 1 0 2Salt 100 86 6 192 1164 3,940,112 10,444,650 255,029 1 35 156Sand & Gravel 443 212 18 673 4333 35,827,149 75,798,680 2,581,577 1 49 623Silica 170 97 11 278 1718 4,802,985 6,744,539 815,140 0 13 265Sodium Sulfate 14 17 1 32 250 738,410 866,910 25,517 0 3 29Sulfur 3 0 2 5 49 11,283 74,900 2,580 0 0 5Talc 18 11 2 31 175 52,492 187,700 6,160 0 3 28Titanium Minerals 1 1 0 2 168 12,720 634,000 56,006 1 0 1Zeolite 12 8 2 22 105 109,435 229,250 11,946 0 0 22

Industrial MineralsThe Number of Mines

EmploymentProduction (tpy)

Reserves (1000t)Ownership

Active Inactive Equipping Total Actual Nominal State Cooperative Private

Production of the main industrial minerals in Iran• Although, it seems that the actual production of industrial minerals in Iran would be higher than thementioned amounts, depending on amount of industrial minerals consumption by related industries.

• For example, In recent years, ceramic industry of Iran has been an increasingly growth in terms ofinstalled production capacity.

• As in tile industry, construction of new tile factories was tripled during the period from 2001 to 2014and more than 120 active tile factories were established in the country.

• In 2014, Iran has produced over 450 million sq.m of tile and is ranked 4th in the world after China, Brazil,and India.

Production of the main industrial minerals in IranRegarding to the production of Iranian ceramic industries on 2014, includingtile industry with production of over 450 million sq.m,sanitary ware industry with production of about 150,000 tons,table ware industry with production of about 60,000 tons,and other ceramic industries;domestic market demand for different clays and feldspars should be about 10,000,000 tons in the year.

Challenges in Iran's industrial minerals sector• The economic instability in the country after years of isolation• The economic and financial sanctions affect business transactions especially withextensive, complicated and sometimes unclear sanction regulations, with the lack ofloan guarantees and difficult money transfer

• Different reactions of international banks to Iranian banks and reestablishmentrelations with the Iranian banking sector

• Remain economic and financial sanctions

• Ownership of natural resources and lands• Employment regulation• Tax disputes• High logistics costs

Opportunities in Iran's industrial minerals sector• Huge industrial minerals resources• Large existing market for industrial minerals in the country and ME region

• Outdated technologies and equipment, especially in the mineral beneficiation and processing parts

• Iranian industrial minerals producers strive to improve their production technology and develop newproducts and continue to look for innovative ways to differentiate their products, especially for export inorder to compete with overseas products.

• Foreign investments and technology approach from developed countries have the key roles to introduce andimprove quality standards, productivity and consistency of supply for Iranian industrial minerals producers.

• Considerable interest for new technology from developed countries especially Europe. European companiesare regarded as reliable business partners for local companies

• Acceptable infrastructures• Low energy costs• Anticipation for opening up Iran’s economy, including its mining industry, after lifting sanctions by US and EU• At first step, foreign investment by acting as a partner for reliable and strong local mining companies andparticipating as a shareholder in JV companies

• No restrictions preventing ownership of mineral rights by foreign companies or individuals.• Mining royalties are modest(typically less than US$1 per ton)• Foreign investment is facilitated and protected under Iran’s Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Act2002.

Thanks for your attentionPlease feel free to contact meM: +98 912 357 2153F: +98 21 89788799E: [email protected]

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IRANIAN Industrial Minerals - IndMin