On August 11, Chador Malu Mining and Industrial Co. (CMIC) officially inaugurated production operations at its iron ore pelletizing plant located at Ardakan in the central Iranian province of Yazd, with a ceremony attended by Iran's minister of industries and mines Ali Akbar Mehrabian.
The new pelletizing plant, situated near the Chador Malu iron ore mine, has a capacity of 3.4 million mt per year Another pelletizing plant with a capacity of five million mt per year will be commissioned by Gol-e-Gohar Iron Ore Co. by early 2009.