TEHRAN - Head of Iran's Geological Survey and Mineral Explorations Organization (GSI) Alireza Shahidi said on Wednesday that there are currently 55 billion tons of proven mineral reserves in the country, IRNA reported.

According to Shahidi, increasing the depth and expanding areas of the exploration operations could add to Iran's current mineral reserves.

“The GSI has been identifying hidden reserves across the country over the past two decades, which means that these reserves have no signs on the surface, so we hope to be able to identify them using aerial geophysics,” Shahidi said.

Back in May, Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) announced that new mineral reserves worth over $28.7 billion have been discovered across the country over the past eight years.

Having 81 different types of minerals, Iran is one of the top 10 mineral-rich countries across the globe. In this regard, the Iranian government has been seriously pursuing several programs for promoting the mining sector as a major contributor to the country’s economic growth.

Iran's proven iron ore reserves are 2.7 billion tons, while the country’s copper reserves are 2.6 billion tons. The country also has 11 million tons of zinc reserves.

The total proven reserves of Iran's mines are expected to reach more than 100 billion tons with the implementation of the Industry, Mining, and Trade Ministry’s exploration programs over 500,000 square kilometers of new mineral zones.

Despite the country’s huge potential in this area, due to some issues like the lack of necessary machinery and equipment and the lack of access to financial resources and foreign investment because of the U.S. sanctions, the Iranian mining sector has been struggling to operate at its maximum capacity over the past few years.

So, the government programs for promoting this industry are mainly focused on relying on domestic sources for helping the mining sector overcome its current problems and hit its ideal targets.

EF/MA