TEHRAN- The value of Iran’s minerals and mining exports stood at $4.418 billion during the first five months of current Iranian calendar year (March 21-August 22), rising 12 percent from the figure of the same period of time in the past year.

In terms of weight, the exports from this sector fell 9.2 percent to 25.479 million tons, IRNA reported on Sunday citing the data released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA).

The country’s imports of minerals and mining equipment and machinery stood at 1.751 million tons worth $1.466 billion in the first five months of this year, indicating 29 percent and 20.4 percent decrease, respectively, compared to the same time span of the previous year.

The worth of Iran’s minerals and mining exports stood at $9 billion in the past Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20, 2018), 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