Iran is using the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to put its rare-earth potential on the regional agenda. But geological potential is still a long way from commercial production.
The country has documented rare-earth occurrences in several geological settings. Two areas stand out: the Bafq-Saghand metallogenic province in central Iran and the Esfordi phosphate deposit in Yazd Province.
The latest development came at an SCO conference on underground resources in Moscow on September 17. Discussions covered rare-earth elements, mineral technologies, deep geophysics, three-dimensional geological modelling, digitalisation and smart mining.
For Iran, the opportunity extends beyond finding more mineralisation. The bigger challenge is defining resources and developing processing routes that can recover rare earths at commercial scale.
Bafq-Saghand: Rare Earths in an Established Mining District
Bafq-Saghand is already one of Iran’s important iron-oxide-apatite districts.
Research has identified rare-earth, uranium and thorium enrichment in several iron-oxide-apatite systems across the province. The region includes deposits such as Choghart, Chadormalu, Se-Chahun and Esfordi.
A 2025 study combined geological, remote-sensing, geophysical and geochemical data to assess rare-earth prospectivity across the province.
The study identified high-prospectivity targets covering about 10% of the area examined. Several targets followed deep geological structures. The researchers recommended detailed exploration at the project scale.
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That finding is useful for exploration planning. It does not establish a commercial rare-earth resource.
A prospective geological zone still needs drilling, resource definition, metallurgical testing and economic evaluation before a mining project can be assessed.
Esfordi Points to By-Product Recovery
Esfordi offers a different route.
The deposit is primarily associated with phosphate. Its apatite concentrate, however, also contains rare earth elements.
Research has reported about 1.2% total rare earth elements in the concentrate. Cerium, lanthanum and neodymium made up about 82% of the rare-earth content measured in the study.
That gives Esfordi significance beyond conventional phosphate production.
Instead of developing a rare-earth operation from scratch, Iran could investigate whether rare earths can be recovered from an existing mineral stream.
Laboratory research has already tested that concept.
One study developed a process to remove calcium and phosphate from Esfordi apatite concentrate. The process concentrated the rare earths in the resulting residue. Further treatment produced a material containing about 39% total rare earth elements.
Those results demonstrate technical potential at the laboratory level. They do not demonstrate commercial viability.
Scaling the process would require further work on recovery rates, reagent use, costs, waste management and product quality.
Technology Could Change the Exploration Equation
Technology is central to the next stage of Iran’s rare-earth story.
Rare-earth mineralisation can occur in complex geological settings. Some targets may also be concealed beneath surface cover. That makes conventional surface mapping only part of the exploration task.
Remote sensing can help identify mineral signatures at regional scale.
At Esfordi, researchers tested Sentinel-2 satellite data to map neodymium-bearing zones. The study reported an overall mapping accuracy of 88.64% for its classification results.
Geophysics addresses a different problem.
Deep geophysical surveys can help identify structures and anomalies that are difficult to interpret from surface geology alone. Three-dimensional geological modelling can then combine those datasets into a more detailed picture of the subsurface.
These tools do not replace drilling or laboratory analysis. They can help explorers decide where detailed investigation should focus.
Better technology can improve target generation, but it cannot turn a geological anomaly into an economic deposit on its own.
Why Processing May Matter More Than Discovery
Rare-earth supply chains face a challenge that begins after exploration.
Finding rare earths is only one part of the process. Producers must also extract and separate the elements from the minerals that contain them.
The processing route depends on the ore or mineral concentrate. Complex mineralogy can increase technical requirements and affect project economics.
Esfordi illustrates this issue clearly.
Research has shown that rare earths can be concentrated from its apatite feedstock. The question for any future development is whether a similar process can operate reliably and economically at much larger scale.
This is where Iran’s mining-technology discussions become relevant.
Exploration technology can improve the search for resources. Processing technology determines whether identified mineralisation can become a usable feedstock.
Neither step alone creates a supply chain.
What the SCO Adds
The SCO provides Iran with a regional platform for discussing mineral technology and cooperation.
The organisation includes major mining and mineral-processing economies, including China, India, Russia and Kazakhstan.
The Moscow conference included discussions on rare earths alongside gold, polymetallic ores, deep geophysics, digitalisation and smart mining.
For Iran, such a forum could support technical exchanges and potential cooperation in exploration and mineral processing.
Iran and China have also included rare-earth exploration and processing among subjects for scientific cooperation.
But cooperation does not establish a commercial rare-earth project. Any development would still depend on geological definition, metallurgical performance, economics, infrastructure and the ability to produce material that meets market requirements.
Iran’s Real Rare-Earth Question
Iran therefore enters the rare-earth conversation with three distinct assets.
It has known rare-earth occurrences. It has prospective geological targets in established mining districts. And it has research showing that rare earths can be concentrated from at least one phosphate-related mineral stream.
What it does not yet have is a demonstrated large-scale commercial rare-earth supply chain based on those opportunities.
The available evidence establishes geological occurrence and exploration potential, not a commercially defined national rare-earth resource.
Bafq-Saghand could provide targets for further exploration. Esfordi could offer a route for investigating rare-earth recovery alongside phosphate processing. Advanced geophysics, remote sensing and three-dimensional modelling could support the exploration effort.
The SCO adds another platform for technical exchange among countries with substantial mineral expertise.
The commercial test, however, remains in Iran’s mines and processing plants.
Until exploration defines economically significant resources and processing demonstrates reliable recovery at scale, Iran’s rare-earth story remains one of potential rather than production.
The SCO platform may give Iran another channel to advance the technical work needed to determine how much of that potential can ultimately become supply.
