Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct.29/ Trend F.Milad/
Iran exported 12.8 million tons of mineral products worth over $1.277 billion in the first six months of the current Iranian calendar year, which began on March 20, deputy Iranian Industry, Mine and Trade Minister Vajihollah Jafari said on Monday, IRIB reported.
"The amount shows 16 percent increase in term of value compared to the same period previous year," Jafari said.
An official with the industry ministry Mohammad Fatemian said in September that Iran experienced a noticeable growth in mineral products output during the first five months of the current Iranian year, which began on March 20.
Mohammad Fatemian added that despite all the problems related to financial deficit and raw materials shortage, iron ore, ceramics, and crude steel outputs rose by 13.8 percent, 7.7 percent, and 3.3 percent compared to the same period last year.
Iranian Industry, Mine and Trade Minister Mehdi Ghazanfari had said in august that Iran holds two percent of the world's total mineral reserves, noting that the mineral reserves include 12 metal and 36 non-metal ores.
Some 5,000 mines are being exploited in the country, he said, adding that around 340 million tons of minerals were extracted in the past year, which ended on March 19.
Meanwhile, the deputy head of Iran's Geology and Mineral Exploration Organization Behrouz Borna has said that the country ranks first in the Middle East for possessing the region's largest mineral reserves, Press TV reported in August.
Iran is ranked 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.
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