History of Sangan Mines

About 600 years ago Sangan iron ore mines were introduced in Tazhatol Gholub book of Hamdollah Mostofi (a famous Iranian historiographer, writer, and poet) for the first time. The initial discoveries of it relate back to 1971~1979 which was applied by the private sector. Then investigating on qualitative and quantitative parameters of this ore body was started by professional experts of National Iranian Steel Company of Iran in 1983. Based on the results, it was decided to ask the most popular iron ore research firm of the world (BHP Company) to do further studies, perform mineral experiments and processing, fulfill feasibility studies, survey on production cycle, determine the optimized capacity, phasing the production, designate the ultimate product, and perform technical & economical experiments by applying the latest technologies and using all facilities in hardware and software parts. In the following, Iran International Engineering Company (IRITEC), Saymonz Company of Canada, and Bitumen Company of South Africa in the format of SBI consortium did more experiments and researches on iron ore mining by considering geology aspects, mineral resources, extraction, and processing of ore to produce concentrates of high purity iron.

Researches demonstrated that Sangan mineral deposit is about 8*26 km2 and it has three mineral areas of east, west, and center. The geological resource of Sangan is estimated about 1.2 milliard MT. Most of iron ore resources of Sangan are related to the west mineral area which is divided into five parts: A, B, C, north A´, south C. Finally after various researches by Iranian and foreign firms, production of 3.1 million Mt of iron ore at the first level was investigated by giving priority to maximum usage of Iranian made facilities and decrease of foreign currency investment. A contract was signed with Danieli Company of Italy so the building of iron ore companies was started with the aim of developing Iran’s abilities. On the other hand, supplementary studies to produce 6.2 Mt of iron ore for the second stage are finished and its executive operations will be done in the near future.

Also, Trade Promotion Organization of Iran and National Iranian Steel Company have long-term and macro plans to produce 25 million Mt of steel each year which will force to use rich and pure mines. It is estimated to produce 4.7 million Mt of iron conglomerate and about 3 million Mt of granulated iron ore (10 mm~25 mm, 0 mm~10 mm) from Sangan mines which can be a rich and valuable achievement in iron ore industry. Iran Management and Planning Organization agreed to invest for more investigations on east and center parts of Sangan mines.

Also, it is more than one decade that Amoot Iranian Trading Company as an experienced iron ore supplier started its investigations and activities in Sangan mines to amplify its job in iron ore industry and fulfill all the expectations of iron ore buyers by providing purest iron ore for them. These efforts make us as a highlighted key role in Sangan iron ore production.

Geographical location & Climate

Sangan iron ore mines are located in Khorasan province (northeast of Iran). It is 300 km south-east of Mashhad and 16 Km north of Sangan (suburbs of Khaf city). The latitude of this region is 24′ and 34 ˚and its longitude of is 16′ and 60 ˚. This area is started from hills with an approximate height of 1200 meter and is 1650 meter above sea level.

Sangan is located in warm, dry and semi-dessert area. The annual rainfall in Sangan is about 140 to 200 mm and its average rainfall is 150 mm annually. Average humidity is approximately 40% each year. It varies from 12% to 76% in May to December respectively. Also the lowest monthly average humidity is calculated about 25% to 35% from May to August. This region is very windy and stormy during summer. The main wind of this area is called Harat which starts from Hindu Kush Mountains of Afghanistan in north and northwest and its direction is not changed during the summer. The average speed of daily wind is about 50 kph.

Technical Specification

Geological studies, initial discoveries, technical and economic researches were continued by Iran International Engineering Company (IRITEC), BHP Australian Company, Saymonz Canadian Company, and Bitumen Company of South Africa.

The researches done by BHP displayed that Sangan mineral deposit is about 8*26 km2 and has three parts: west, east, and center. Its geological resource is estimated at about 2.1 milliard MT and the most part of it is related to the west area.

Finally after technical and economic researches and investigation of different Iranian and foreign firms, the iron ore production (3.1 MT each year) by applying Iranian made facilities and decreasing foreign currency investment was investigated. An international tender was done and Danieli Company of Italy was chosen as the contractor of iron ore companies with the rate of 155 million $ which is a great improvement in the iron ore market.

To increase the production capacity, more researches were done because, in the fourth improvement plan of Iran, it was predicted to produce 1.27 million MT of steel and also there is a growing demand to steel products. Finally, it was decided to improve the production to 6.2 million MT at the first level with the collaboration of Danieli Company of Italy.

Geology

A brief explanation of geology and mineralization:

Sangan mineral deposit is considered as skarn iron ores which consist some east to west parts of Taleb Mountains. The geological structure shows the combination of mineral and wastes from north to south as follow:

Carnosaur Granite The complex of quartzite, sandstone, and siltstone North skarn part (north C ) Shale and siltstone South skarn part (A, B, South C) Volcanic collection

Various iron ore zones in Sangan are as follow:

Concentrated and lumpy iron zone Low grade and scattered iron zone Oxidized zone Sulfur zone

In the following, due to the importance of B anomaly, we explain briefly about its geology and mineralization.

B Anomaly

B anomaly is consists of two zones of mineralization of lumpy Hematite/Magnetite and weaker, scattered or discontinuous one. Oxidized zone have covered both of mentioned mineralized zones. These zones are divided by conglomerate in lower part and siltstone in the higher part. There are three waste zones as follow:

Limestone part which has a weak mineralization and located at the end of west B anomaly. A shear zone which is located at the end of the southeast part. Dike of quartz and dike of feldspar which stops mineralization.

Activities of Amoot Iranian Trading Company in the Area of Sangan Mines

Discovery of minerals, ground waters, surface and deep mapping, geological excavation, hydrology, resource determination, and all related issues Designing, equipping, and utilizing iron ore mines and doing other related jobs including structural actions, constructing roads and facilities, providing green space, building and setting up the iron ore company, and mineral processing industry Performing all trading activities including sale and purchasing, importation and exportation of facilities, products, and materials and also freight and any required action which is related to the goals of Amoot Iranian Trading Company Contracting and consulting activities inside and outside of Iran including management, consulting, and providing engineering, exploratory and mineral services such as water drilling, excavation, equipping and extraction, mapping, and constructing related roads and buildings. Investment and partnership in production plans and units of other reliable firms. Sales and purchase of stocks and all related jobs Implementing educational and cultural activities, researching and helping to Public Educational Institutions within the rules and regulations of the country

Performing all trading affairs and endeavoring to do all activities that are related directly or indirectly to the fulfilling process of our goals as an iron ore supplier