Other Names: Sagend, Sakhaid
Location: Northeast of Yazd province in central Iran desert, Kavir
Subordinate to: Ministry of Industry and Mines
Size: 3,294 tons of identified uranium reserves
Primary Function: Uranium mining

Description:

The Saghand uranium mine is divided into two distinct deposits, Saghand 1 which is approximately 16m below the surface and encompasses an area 200 by 300 meters, and Saghand 2 which is approximately 70m below the surface. Identified reserves for Saghand 1 are estimated at 1,927 tonnes of Uranium and for Saghand 2 at 1,367 tonnes of Uranium. Undiscovered reserves for the Saghand mine are estimated at 7,500 tonnes of uranium. Under the direction of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), 75 percent of construction activities at the mine have been completed with the rest scheduled for completion during the second half of 2006.

Iran has received assistance in exploiting its uranium deposits at various times and from various countries. Specialists have come from Argentina, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Russia. Most notably, the Chinese have provided the greatest assistance. In the early 1990s, over 600 Chinese and Iranian specialists formed a working group to investigate the deposits. Experts from the Beijing Research Institute of Uranium Geology have assisted Iran in prospecting for uranium in the past. Additionally, the National Council of Resistance in Iran (NCRI), a domestic opposition group, has previously alleged the presence of approximately 50 Chinese experts at Saghand. At present, Saghand is reportedly host to approximately 230 workers comprising of Iranian specialists and engineers.

Key Sources:
[1] "Saghand Mine description", AEOI, 2002, http://www.aeoi.org.ir/NewWeb/Fuel/Saghand/Saghand.htm.
[2] "Mining Annual Review: 1981-1996," National Iranian Copper Industries Company, July 1996, http://www.nicico.com/ma3.html.
[3] Iran Nuclear Update, 2003, Risk Report, Volume 9 Number 5, September-October 2003, http://www.wisconsinproject.org/countries/iran/nuke2003.htm.
[4] Vasily Lata and Anton Khlopkov, "Iran's Missile and Nuclear Challenge: A Conundrum for Russia," The Center for Policy Studies in Russia (PIR), 8 May 2003, http://www.pircenter.org/report/lata_05-08-2003.pdf.
[5] Uranium 2005: Resources, Production and Demand, A joint report by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and the International Atomic Energy Agency. OECD NEA No. 6098, 2005, p. 204, 205.

	Updated November 2006