TEHRAN – Some 309 mining units were inaugurated across Iran during the first six months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-September 21), registering a 7.7 percent increase compared to the figure for the previous year’s same period.

Based on Industry, Mining, and Trade Ministry data, over 472 mineral exploration licenses were issued in the mentioned six months, eight percent more compared to the same period last year, IRNA reported.

Official statistics show that there are currently 5,600 mines active in the country, from which 410 million tons of minerals were extracted in the previous Iranian calendar year (ended on March 19).

As reported, up to 65 percent of the total extracted minerals were construction materials.

According to the Iranian Industry, Mining and Trade Ministry’s estimations, the country’s available mineral reserves are expected to increase by 20 to 25 percent in the coming years.

Previous statistics put the country’s estimated reserves at 57 billion tons, of which about 37 billion tons are definite and the rest are potential reserves.

Iran’s minerals extraction is also expected to increase by 30 percent in the current calendar year (ends on March 21, 2021) to exceed 500 million tons.

The country’s mining industries produced 25.344 million tons of steel ingots, 252,700 tons of copper cathode, 285,800 tons of aluminum ingots, and 1.522 million tons of coal concentrate, while production of ceramic tiles exceeded 400.386 million square meters.

The mining sector has become one of the major areas of focus in the Iranian economy in recent years, since the country is one of the world’s 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.

Expansion and exploitation of these huge sources of income have become a top priority for the government in recent years, and various programs have been defined for the improvement of this industry.

EF/MA