Mineral companies affiliated with Iranian state mines and metals holding company Imidro produced 27.9 million mt of iron ore concentrate in the first nine months of the current Iranian fiscal year, March 21-December 21, up 17% year on year, the holding entity said Thursday.
Due to the start of several pelletizing projects, iron ore pellet represented the biggest jump. Around 23.62 million mt of iron ore pellet was produced during the period, up 26% on the year. In addition, 14.32 million mt of direct reduced iron was produced, reflecting a 15% on-the-year increase.
Crude steel output also showed a sharp increase. Around 12.77 million mt of crude steel was produced by Iran's major mills, up 19% from the previous year's corresponding period.
About 1.66 million mt of crude steel was produced in the latest Iranian month, 23% up from the year-ago month.
Iran crude output is expected to rise above 30 million mt in the next year from the expectation of 21.5 million mt in the current Iranian year ending March 21, 2018, according to Mahmoud Eslamian, chairman of the Iranian Steel Producers' Association. The country's crude capacity totals 32.5 million mt, but there are plans to boost the capacity to 55 million mt/year by 2025, according to the country's strategic steel expansion plan.
