science

Sungun copper mine

Sungun copper mine is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Sungun copper mine rather than just read about it. In short: 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.

Key takeaways

Sungun copper mine belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Sungun copper mine to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Sungun copper mine from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

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 started on 1998. 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.

History

The history of mining activities at Sungun dates back approximately two centuries, to the Qajar period. Evidence of early mining operations exists in the form of underground excavations along the Sungun River, particularly within high-grade zones. Intermittent extraction of high-grade copper ore continued until 1972. Modern exploration activities using advanced methods, tools, and equipment began in 1946 and continued until 1974. According to available documentation, in August 1977, Dr. Hashem Etminan—one of the senior experts of the Geological Survey of Iran—was the first to systematically identify the Sungun deposit as a porphyry copper deposit, thereby guiding subsequent exploration studies. Consequently, in 1991, based on geochemical and geophysical exploration conducted by the Oleng and Itok companies, the presence of strong copper and molybdenum anomalies was confirmed. Preliminary feasibility studies were carried out in 1991 by SNC of Canada and in 1995 by the Itok company. The first exploratory borehole was drilled in 1989. Between 1989 and 1992, semi-detailed exploration activities were conducted by Oleng Mining Company in cooperation with a British company. These activities included the excavation of seven exploratory tunnels with a cross-sectional area of 4 square meters and a total length of 2,224.25 meters. In addition, during 1991–1992, 30 boreholes with a total depth of 3,000 meters were drilled in the eastern and northeastern parts of the ore body up to the northern skarn zone, providing the necessary parameters for reserve estimation and evaluation by the aforementioned companies. Pre-stripping operations began in 1993 under the supervision of the Taransheh Mine Company and were completed in 1999 concurrently with complementary and detailed exploration studies, with the assistance of Pars Olang Consulting Engineers and Rio Tinto.

See also Mining in Iran

References Etminan, H. (1977): Discovery of copper–molybdenum porphyry mineralization near the village of Sungun and proposed program for its exploration. Geological Survey of Iran, Tehran, Iran, Document No. 13422, 24 pp. and map. Available at: http://library.ngdir.ir/Search/DocumentDetails/13422 National Iranian Copper Industries Company (NICICO): Sungun Copper Complex – Mining History at Sungun Copper (in Persian). National Iranian Copper Industries Company. Archived (dead link). Geological Survey of Iran (n.d.): 60th Anniversary of the Geological Survey and Mineral Exploration of Iran; Review of Development Plans for East Azerbaijan Mines. Geological Survey of Iran, Tehran, Iran. Singer, D.A., Berger, V.I., and Moring, B.C. (2008): Porphyry copper deposits of the world: Database and grade and tonnage models, 2008. US Geological Survey Open-File Report 2008–1155. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS): Sungun porphyry copper deposit. MRDATA database. Retrieved 10 April 2023. Available at: https://mrdata.usgs.gov Etminan, H. (2017): Interview with Dr. Hashem Etminan, discoverer of the Sungun copper mine: “I feel good to have played a role in bringing this mine to fruition” (Part I). Geosciences and Mining Magazine, Vol. 13, No. 138, October 2017. Geological Survey and Mineral Exploration of Iran, Tehran. ISSN: 2251-7049. Etminan, H. (2017): Interview with Dr. Hashem Etminan, discoverer of the Sungun copper mine: “I feel good to have played a role in bringing this mine to fruition” (Part II). Geosciences and Mining Magazine, Vol. 13, No. 139, November 2017. Geological Survey and Mineral Exploration of Iran, Tehran. ISSN: 2251-7049.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sungun copper mine

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Sungun copper mine claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Sungun copper mine before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Sungun copper mine ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Sungun copper mine

In research: Sungun copper mine appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Sungun copper mine in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Sungun copper mine is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Copper mines in Iran, East Azerbaijan province geography stubs, Mine stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sungun copper mine outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Sungun copper mine in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Sungun copper mine means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Sungun copper mine out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sungun copper mine in simple terms?

Why does Sungun copper mine matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Sungun copper mine?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Sungun copper mine.