TEHRAN - The managing director of the National Iranian Copper Industries Company (NICICO) said the company’s nominal production capacity has increased by 25 percent in the first four months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-July 21), IRIB reported.

According to Hossein Modarres Khiabani, the mentioned increase was achieved after the company implemented several new projects.

“With the implementation of the new projects, 300,000 tons have been added to the National Iranian Copper Industries Company’s copper concentrate production capacity,” he said.

Khiabani put the nominal capacity of the company prior to the implementation of the mentioned new projects at 1.3 million tons.

Back in June 2023, NICICO’s former head Ali Rostami said the company was following a new program to increase its annual revenues to $10 billion.

According to Rostami, based on the mentioned program, the country’s production capacity is going to increase by threefold and more than 50,000 people will be working in the industry.

Earlier in March 2023, Rostami said the country’s copper production is going to reach one million tons in the next six years.

He noted that in case of reaching the above-mentioned output, the country’s copper export is also going to hit $10 billion.

According to Rostami, NICICO managed to export $1.6 billion worth of copper products in the Iranian calendar year 1400 (ended on March 20, 2022).

Iran saw its copper exports double in that year despite a series of bitter sanctions imposed by the United States aimed at hampering the Islamic Republic’s trade of lucrative metals.

EF/MA