Official: One miner dies every 16 days in Iran
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 29
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
One miner dies every 16 days in Iran, an official at Iran's Lorestan University of Medical Science said.
"Miners are more vulnerable to losses in comparison with other workers," Iran's ISNA news agency quoted the official as saying on June 29.
On May 18, Ali Yazdani, director of resources management department at the Iranian industry ministry, said a total of 7,000 operating and non-operating mines exist in the country.
He added that around 5,600 mines are currently operating in Iran.
Iran holds three percent of the world's mineral reserves, which puts the country first in the Middle East and third in Asia.
Iran ranks among the 15 major mineral-rich countries of the world and exports its industrial and mineral products to 159 countries, including Iraq, China, the United Arab Emirates, India and Afghanistan.