Iran, France to Cooperate in Aluminium Sector

During the visit of President Hassan Rouhani and his accompanying high-ranking delegation to France last week, IMIDRO signed an aluminum cooperation deal with the French Fives Group.

Signed by the giant engineering company’s chairman of the executive board, Frederic Sanchez, and head of IMIDRO, the agreement entails the establishment of a joint copper anode production company through an engineering, procurement, construction and finance contract.

Anode, primarily made from petroleum coke, is one of the main raw materials required for aluminum ingot production and its manufacture usually accounts for nearly 30% of production costs.

The anode production plant, with a production capacity of 450,000 tons per year, requires a close to $400 million investment and is IMIDRO’s largest initiative ever taken to expand Iran’s aluminum production capability.
Based on the Vision Plan, aluminum ingot production capacity is envisioned to reach up to 1.2 million tons per year, while Iran’s annual aluminum output currently stands at nearly 450,000 tons per year.

The Lille-based Fives Group, with headquarters in over 30 countries and nearly 8,000 employees, is a designer and supplier of machines, process equipment and production lines for the world’s largest industries, including aluminum, steel, glass, automotive, aerospace, logistics, cement, energy and sugar sectors, according to the group’s website.

Furthermore, a memorandum of understanding was signed by the Geological Survey of Iran and the French Geological Survey Organization, Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières on sharing experience and expertise in mineral exploration and exploitation as well as processing of rare earth elements.

source: imidro