Iran discovers antimony reserves after 10 years of exploration
Iran’s state metals and mining company IMIDRO says it has found antimony, a rare metalloid with major technological and military uses, in several locations in Iran.
The IMIDRO report cited by Fars news agency on Wednesday showed that the company had spent 10 years on exploration projects in eight locations across Iran to discover some 7,000 metric tons (mt) of antimony reserves.
It said that the largest of the newly-found reserves is located in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan, adding that estimates show that the reserve is responsible for 10% of the global supply of the metalloid.
The global demand for antimony has increased in recent years as the chemical element is becoming increasingly popular in solar panel manufacturing and in the production of sensitive military equipment.
The most prevalent use of antimony is in flame retardants while the mineral has traditional applications in medicine and cosmetics.
The price of antimony has also been on the rise around the world amid export restrictions imposed in China, the country that accounts for nearly half of the global antimony mining and a large share of the world’s antimony processing.
Estimates published last year suggested that the price of antimony ingots with high purity could jump by $8,000 to 30,000 an mt in the coming years.
Iran has introduced policies to expand its mining sector in recent years amid efforts to diversify the economy away from crude oil exports.
IMIDRO announced in February 2023 that it had discovered the first lithium ore deposit in the country with authorities saying later that they had devised plans to start up the mine in 2025.
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