Chadormalu Mining and Industrial Company, as one of the main players in Iran's steel chain, is today facing a question beyond production and profitability: from which companies is the majority of the iron ore needed by this complex purchased, at what price and quality, and who benefits from its multi-million-ton contracts?
This question gained more importance when Chadormalu's raw material supply model changed, and the company's reliance on purchasing iron ore from the open market increased. A trend that intensified during Farid Dehghani's management period, not only transformed the company's cost structure but also turned the supplier network into one of its most sensitive financial decision-making centers.
The CEO of Chadormalu has announced that the company purchases iron ore from 25 suppliers, and the daily intake of iron ore has exceeded 40,000 tons at times. Additionally, contracts have been signed to supply at least 10 million tons of iron ore; a volume that shows even a slight discrepancy in price, grade, moisture, or transportation costs can create hundreds of billions of tomans in profit or loss.
Mohammad Reza Tabesh, Chairman of the Board of Chadormalu, also stated that in a nine-month period, about 2.5 million tons of iron ore were extracted from the Chadormalu mine, while purchases from outside the company exceeded 7.7 million tons. Based on these figures, more than three-quarters of the raw materials consumed were purchased from external suppliers, which doubles the necessity for transparency regarding the sellers.
Why Isn't the List of 25 Sellers Published?
The most significant ambiguity is the non-disclosure of the names of the 25 iron ore suppliers. The public and shareholders still do not know who ultimately owns these companies, how the sellers were selected, and how the prices and conditions of their contracts compare to market norms.
Questions about the origin mine, the actual grade of the delivered ore, transportation costs, prepayment amounts, and settlement terms remain unanswered. In multi-million-ton contracts, a slight reduction in grade or a minor increase in transportation costs can have significant financial impacts on the company's performance. Therefore, keeping seller details hidden is not just a lack of information but an issue related to corporate governance and shareholder rights.
Some reports about Chadormalu indicate a 300,000-ton contract valued at approximately 1.5 trillion tomans, in which the seller has a family relationship with a political official in Yazd province.
Commercial Department at the Center of Chadormalu's Misconduct
With the increase in external purchases, Chadormalu's commercial department has effectively become a crucial center for directing the company's financial flow. The appointment of Ali Nasiri as the head of this department in December 2024 is important from this perspective.
It is still unclear based on what mechanism sellers are introduced, how many members the purchasing committee has, who has the final authority to approve or reject contracts, and whether managers are required to disclose their family and business relationships with transaction parties. The method of verifying the actual ownership of selling companies and the existence or absence of veto rights in the purchasing committee should also be clarified.
The publication of a 607 million toman salary slip of one of Chadormalu's subsidiary managers in 2025 had previously revealed signs of weak internal control. Although the CEO dismissed the manager after the slip was made public, the question remained as to why auditing and supervisory units did not identify the irregular payment before public disclosure.
The "Tehran Tino" case is another example of this issue. In 2026, a claim was made about a multi-billion toman steel billet purchase by this company, which Chadormalu and the Rabiei family denied. However, subsequent financial documents indicated a claim of about 314 billion tomans and the consideration of a provision for impairment for it. This raised questions about customer credit assessment, collateral, credit limits, and approval of credit sales.
Transparency; The Way to Address Accusations
The ambiguities surrounding Chadormalu can be examined without a security approach and solely through data disclosure. The company can publish a table including the names of suppliers, ultimate ownership, board members, origin mine, tonnage, grade, price per ton, transportation costs, contract type, seller selection method, prepayments, and potential relationships of related persons.
As a publicly traded company, Chadormalu cannot consider its massive contracts as merely internal matters. If prices are competitive and contracts are sound, information disclosure will help reduce suspicions; however, if an unusual share has been given to companies related to managers or officials, this data will illuminate the path for independent auditing and investigation.
The Chadormalu case is a serious test for transparency in Iran's economy today. The answer to the question "Who benefits from Chadormalu's purchases?" will not be found through general denials, but through the publication of seller names, prices, ore quality, payment terms, and the minutes of the purchasing committee.