Further studies of the validation and simultation of the Lake Urmia minerals exploration process, Report No. 3 (Preliminary Economic Assessment)

Executor of main plan: Dr Razyeh Lak

Executor of project: Dr Morteza Khalatbari Jafari

2020

In this report, potential of Lake Urmia on the extraction of evaporative minerals such as sodium chloride, potassium chloride and magnesium components are studied. These studies including market, supply of products, consumption, importation, export and price of evaporative minerals. Studies of this project show that there is an approximate capacity of 3500000 cubic meters per year, for extracting evaporative minerals from the brines of Lake Urmia. The brines of Lake Urmia in 2017 and 2018 contain solutes with an average grade of 16 gr/l chloral ion, 113 g/l sodium chloride, 147 g/l magnesium chloride and 41 g/l magnesium sulfate.  In the analyses of the brines of Lake Urmia, Ca2+ is a few because before that carbonate in the brine was precipitate which implies that these brines have not impurities like gypsum, carbonate and calcite. Due to the country's high need for potash and also petrochemical industry has a high need for sodium chloride, this project has been financed in two phases. Economic-financial evaluation shows that there are possible produced 360.000 tons of sodium chloride and 50.000 tons of potassium chloride per year. Based on this amount of storage, the plan's period is estimated to be fifty years. Base on this estimate, annual capacity utilization of the plan 3.500.000 cubic meters of brines per year. Studies of this project show that the plan of Urmia Lake evaporative minerals production has appropriate technical, economic and financial justification.  Internal rate of return (IRR) estimate 37% and present net worth is estimated at 2164 billion rials which comparable with profitable minerals designs. One of the positive features of this project is low capital cost and low current cost and high annual income. Running this project after environmental risk assessment studies causes increase employment and improve the economy of the region in order to provide financial support for Lake Urmia restoration projects.