Lithium, copper and now titanium. Another headline breakthrough for Iran in world of minerals

Lithium, copper and now titanium. Another headline breakthrough for Iran in world of minerals
Unalloyed, titanium is as strong as some steels but less dense. / Steve Johnson, Pexels, 3D HD Render Computer Art
By bne IntelIiNews June 27, 2023

Iran’s sole known titanium deposit is to be turned into a working mine by March next year, according to local reports.

The development comes hot on the heels of Iran’s discovery of what is believed to be the Middle East’s largest known porphyry copper deposit and the February announcement of a giant lithium reserve in the country.

The titanium mine and associated processing facility in the vicinity of Kahnuj in Iran’s southeastern Kerman Province—also the location of the copper discovery—will come on stream following three decades in which efforts to achieve the launch always foundered, according to Moslem Moravveji, a Ministry of Industry, Mining and Trade (MIMT) provincial official, Tasnim news agency reported on June 27.

The reserve is thought to contain between 150mn and 400mn tonnes of titanium, a silvery grey-white lustrous metal. The extraction and processing enterprise might produce 130,000 tonnes of titanium concentrate as well as 70,000 tonnes of slag annually.

Morraveji reportedly made the launch announcement in a briefing with local reporters about latest efforts in Kerman to extract copper, chromite, magnesium, gold and other mineral resources.  

MIMT and state-owned Iranian Mines & Mining Industries Development & Renovation Organisation (Imidro) agreed in 2019 to award the project to develop a Kahnuj titanium mine to a private investor. However, no name of a private investor has been made public and it is likely that the investor is in fact linked with the state in some guise. Due to Western sanctions that hinder investment projects, many such projects are being funded by various quasi-governmental groups and entities. 

The two most useful properties of titanium are said to be corrosion resistance and its strength-to-density ratio, the highest of any metallic element. Unalloyed, titanium is as strong as some steels but less dense. The metal can be alloyed with iron, aluminium, vanadium and molybdenum to produce strong lightweight alloys for aerspace products including jet engines, missiles and spacecraft. The most common titanium compound, titanium dioxide, is used as a photocatalyst and in the manufacture of white pigments.

Throughout the Cold War period, titanium was listed as a strategic material by the US. A large stockpile of a porous form of the pure metal, titanium sponge, was maintained by the Defense National Stockpile Center, until it was dispersed in the 2000s. As of 2021, the four leading producers of titanium sponge were China (52%), Japan (24%), Russia (16%) and Kazakhstan (7%), according to the United States Geological Survey.

Lithium and copper have a growing reputation as essential metals needed for technology, such as lithium batteries and electronics in electric vehicles (EVs), that is driving the green energy revolution

Around 7% of global mineral reserves are found in Iran, making it one of the most important mineral producers in the world. However, the country, partly because of the sanctions burden it endures, lacks the required technology to exploit the resources to the extent it would otherwise aim for.

Iran possesses major reserves of zinc, copper, salt, coal, iron ore, uranium, lead, gold, bauxite (for aluminium), molybdenum, antimony, sulphur, sand and gravel.

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