US embassy cable - 04PRETORIA3202

UNCLAS PRETORIA 003202 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/S AND NEA/NGA 
STATE PLEASE PASS USGS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EMIN, EINV, EIND, IR, SF 
SUBJECT: SOUTH AFRICAN TECHNOLOGY HELPS IRAN MINE COPPER 
 
Sensitive But Unclassified.  Please handle accordingly. 
 
1. (SBU) Summary: Mintek, the South African state-owned 
minerals processing research institution, has entered into 
an agreement with the National Iranian Copper Industries 
Company (NICICO) to construct a USD 3-4 million heap bio- 
leaching pilot plant in Sarcheshmeh, Iran.  Construction 
should begin before the end of the year.  If the pilot 
plant proves successful, it could lead to the use of Mintek 
heap bio-leaching technology to produce copper from low- 
grade ore elsewhere in the world.  End Summary. 
 
2. (SBU) Mintek's Biotechnology Division manager Dr. Tony 
Pinches told us that Mintek had been working with the 
NICICO for three years to determine whether its copper ores 
were amenable to Mintek's heap bio-leaching technology. 
Pinches explained that while Mintek's technology offered a 
general solution to processing low-grade copper ore, it was 
especially suited for chalcopyrite (a sulfide), for which 
there was currently no economic treatment.  With its many 
low-grade chalcopyrite deposits, Iran seemed the natural 
choice for a pilot-plant.  Sarcheshmeh is the site of one 
of the world's largest low-grade copper mines, with a total 
ore reserve of 1.2 billion tons at an average grade of 0.7 
percent copper. 
 
3. (SBU) NICICO and Mintek will construct and operate two 
or three heap-leach pads at Sarcheshmeh, each capable of 
handling approximately 20 kilotons of low-grade copper ore. 
The copper-bearing solution derived from the leached ore 
will be treated by solvent extraction before being fed to 
the existing electro-winning facility to produce pure 
copper metal.  Test results so far have been promising. 
Construction of the USD 3-4 million plant should begin 
before the end of the year.  Pinches told us that the pilot 
plant would take two years to build, after which NICICO 
would have to decide whether to build a commercial plant. 
 
4. (SBU) According to Mintek's agreement with NICICO, 
NICICO will acquire the exclusive right to Mintek heap bio- 
leaching technology in Iran as well as for any project 
where it holds at least a 10 percent stake.  Mintek retains 
all other technology rights.  If successful, Mintek's heap 
bio-leaching technology could find broad application in the 
international copper-mining industry, making the mining of 
many more copper deposits commercially viable and adding to 
world supply and reserves during a period of rising demand. 
 
HUME