Upstream Investments in Natural Bitumen (Gilsonite) Deposits
Natural bitumen is a general name given to several categories of crude oil related resources with bituminous content and rich carbon contents. The below is the global geological categorization for natural resources of bitumen.
The most valuable known natural bitumen as per above categorization is Grahamite also commonly known as Gilsonite or Uintaite. The resources of Gilsonite can only be found in USA and Iran with specific characteristics to match certain applications.
Grahamite has a wide range of applications in industries including major consumers to be Oil Drilling Muds, Foundry, Asphalt and several minor applications such as Inks Paints and Stains.
As the second largest producer of Natural Bitumen in the world, Iran has an important role in the Gilsonite supply globally. Zista Group has been a supplier of Natural Bitumen to international markets from Iran since 2008 and by 2013 the group holds a 40% market share of all Iranian Gilsonite Exports. Considering the seasonal mining of Gilsonite and the relatively small size of Natural Bitumen mines in Iran, in 2014 Zista Group started investing in mine operations to provide the necessary financial and business management requirements to make more steady and higher quality production from three mines in Iran. In addition to the upstream investment in mining, one processing plant (Powdering and pulverizing Gilsonite) has been established 100 kilometeres from mine site to control the quality of the Gilsonite Mine output while handling the powdering and packaging requests made by international consumers.
Through the investment and an experienced international network of professionals, Zista Group has been able to supply more than five industries in over 20 countries with Iran Gilsonite and continue to do so as mining operations expand within 2022 and 2023.
For more information about Gilsonite please visit specialized supply platform of Zista Group for Gilsonite: www.zistagilsonite.com