Sungun copper mine

The Sungun copper mine ( معدن مس سونگون ) is located in Varzaqan county, East Azerbaijan, Iran, 75 km northwest of the provincial town of Ahar. It is the most important geologic and industrial feature in the area. It is the largest open-pit copper mine in Iran and is in the primary stages of extraction.

The reserves are estimated to be as much as 995 million tons of copper ore. The ore is processed directly at a concentration plant at the mine. The capacity of the concentration plant is 170,000 tons of copper concentrates, with plans to expand to 300,000 tons.