This article has evidence gaps. Read the research notes before relying on its conclusions.
Research cutoff: · Updated:An industry with several production stages
Iran's primary aluminum producers include SALCO, Iranian Aluminum Company, Almahdi Aluminium Company, and Iran Alumina Company, according to the USGS review of the sector. Their individual production figures in that review use an Iranian fiscal reporting period; they should not be mixed directly with the Gregorian-year national series presented below. s1
The national series rises through 2023 before falling in 2024. It measures primary metal, excluding recycled aluminum as a separate production category. The figures describe output, not installed capacity, profitability, or domestic consumption. s3
[s1] [s3]Why bauxite, alumina, and aluminum are different
The production chain begins with bauxite, an ore from which alumina is chemically extracted. Alumina is aluminum oxide, an intermediate material rather than finished metal. In primary production, the Hall–Héroult process uses electricity to separate aluminum from oxygen in a molten bath. The Aluminum Association distinguishes this route from secondary production, which recycles existing metal. s2
Inside the smelting cell, alumina dissolves in molten cryolite. Carbon anodes conduct current into the bath; oxygen from the alumina combines with carbon, while molten aluminum collects below. The metal is removed and cast. This explains why an aluminum smelter is technically different from an alumina refinery, even when the two belong to the same industrial group. s2
The distinction matters when comparing national statistics. Tonnes of mined ore, alumina, and metal measure different materials at different stages. They cannot be added to create a meaningful total of aluminum production. Nor does domestic smelting output alone establish that the country supplies all its own upstream material. s2
[s2]The primary aluminum production chain
Arrows show material processing and essential inputs. This is a general production explanation, not a map of verified supply relationships among Iranian facilities. [s2]
[s2]Electricity and environmental performance
SINTEF, a Norwegian research organization, describes aluminum electrolysis as energy-intensive and identifies cell design, process control, energy efficiency, and emissions as important research areas. Its account also explains that environmental concerns include gases, by-products, and residual materials. s4
These process characteristics explain why a national output chart gives only a partial picture of an aluminum industry. Evaluating Iranian facilities would require evidence about electricity supply, energy consumption, operating interruptions, emissions controls, and actual releases. General technical descriptions cannot establish the performance of a particular plant. This draft therefore makes no unsupported claim about the carbon intensity or environmental compliance of Iranian production. s4
[s4]Iran · gregorian
Data, units and methodology
USGS Production table row 'Aluminum, primary, metal'. Values exclude upstream bauxite and alumina and do not represent secondary recycled-metal output. The table states that data are reported unless otherwise marked and includes information available through February 3, 2026. Values are retained from this table without calculation or substitution from earlier releases.
| Reporting period | Primary aluminum metal (metric tonnes) |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 446,842 observed — Reported value; no estimate marker.[s3] |
| 2021 | 559,647 observed — Reported value; no estimate marker.[s3] |
| 2022 | 632,166 observed — Reported value; no estimate marker.[s3] |
| 2023 | 635,596 observed — The inspected 2023 report's narrative gives 635597; this dataset consistently retains the later table's 635596. The discrepancy requires editorial checking.[s3] |
| 2024 | 604,526 observed — Reported value; no estimate marker.[s3] |
National totals do not measure company capacity utilization.
Company fiscal-year figures are not substituted for national Gregorian-year observations.
The discrepancy between the 2023 narrative and later table remains unresolved.
Reporting-period boundaries were not independently established and remain null.
Sources & research notes
- [s1] The Mineral Industry of Iran in 2023U.S. Geological Survey · Commodity Review — Metals — Bauxite and Alumina, and Aluminum; browser search extraction · Accessed 2026-10-27
- [s2] Primary Production 101The Aluminum Association · How Aluminum Is Made; The Hall–Héroult Process · Accessed 2026-10-27
- [s3] Iran — 2024 ReportU.S. Geological Survey · Production table, Aluminum primary metal row; data available through February 3, 2026 · Accessed 2026-10-27
- [s4] Aluminium ElectrolysisSINTEF · Introductory technical description and research areas · Accessed 2026-10-27
limitations
- USGS numerical material was inspected through browser search extractions; direct retrieval of the national page timed out and the PDF returned an access error.
- Technical sources explain production processes, not verified Iranian facility performance.
- The live national table has no verified publication date. Its stated data cutoff precedes the editorial cutoff, but availability of this page version by October 26, 2026 was not independently established.
unverified items
- A complete regional account of operating smelters, refineries, and their supply relationships.
- Current feedstock import dependence and verified company ownership.
- Facility-level electricity use, interruptions, environmental performance, and labor conditions.
- The cause of the discrepancy in the reported 2023 national output.
data gaps
- The default 2012–2026 window was sought, but older releases were not reconciled; the dataset contains five inspected annual observations.
- No verified 2025 or 2026 national observation is included.
- Comparable annual recycling, electricity-intensity, emissions, and capacity-utilization series were not established.
coverage period
National primary-metal production for 2020–2024; general technical process background