BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 5
By Elnur Baghishov - Trend
Sponge iron production of Sefid Dasht Steel Company of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province in southwestern Iran increased by 30 percent in the last Iranian year (from March 21, 2019 to March 20, 2020) compared to the year before last (from March 21, 2018 to March 21, 2019), said CEO of the company Mahmoud Arbabzadeh, Trend reports citing Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO).
According to Arbabzadeh, the company produced 725,000 tons of sponge iron in the last Iranian year.
Arbabzadeh added that the production of sponge iron was more than 63,000 tons compared to the year before last.
The official said that the company plans to produce 800,000 tons of sponge iron this Iranian year (starting from March 20, 2020).
The official added that the company has made 81 percent progress in the construction of a steel plant, and it is expected that the plant will be commissioned this Iranian year (starting from March 20, 2020).
"During the US sanctions against Iran, the company produced a waste treatment equipment and commissioned. The equipment was produced in three months at a cost of 50 billion rials (about $1.19 million). With the domestic production of the equipment, more than 50 percent of the funds were prevented from leaving the country," he said.
The shares of Sefid Dasht Steel Company are owned by Mobarakeh Steel Company (65 percent) and Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization, known as IMIDRO (35 percent).
The US imposed new sanctions on Iran in November 2018. Over the past period, the sanctions affected Iranian oil exports, more than 700 banks, companies and individuals.