TEHRAN- The value of Iran’s minerals and mining exports stood at $3.763 billion during the first four months of current Iranian calendar year (March 21-July 22), according to data released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA).

As the annual exports from this sector is planned to reach $10 billion in the current year (ends on March 20, 2019), the four-month export materialized 37 percent of the planned figure, IRNA reported on Saturday.

IRICA data put the minerals and mining exports at 20.917 million tons during the first four months of the current year, with Iraq, China and United Arab Emirates as the main export destinations accounting for 40 percent of the total exports.

The worth of Iran’s minerals and mining exports stood at $9 billion in the past Iranian calendar year, according to Mehdi Karbasian, the head of Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO).

As Karbasian announced in late February, by the end of the present Iranian year, about $6 billion of new projects will be inaugurated in Iranian mining sector.

Iran is one of the top 10 mineral-rich countries where 68 types of minerals have been identified so far, including the world’s largest deposits of copper, zinc and iron ore, which are tempting international investors after the lifting of economic sanctions against the country in January 2016.

MA/MA