Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov.18/ Trend G.Mehdi/
Iran's iron ore concentrate production capacity will be increased by 300,000 tons once a production unit comes on stream in the central Yazd province by December 21, Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) announced on Sunday.
The country's iron ore concentrate production rose by 8.4 percent in the first half of the current Iranian calendar year, which began on March 20, compared to the same period of last year.
On September 3, large iron ore concentrate production unit was inaugurated in Iran's southeastern Kerman province.
The plant has the capacity to produce two million tons of iron ore concentrate per annum.
Iranian Industry, Mine and Trade Minister Mehdi Ghazanfari said that Iran holds two percent of the world's total mineral reserves.
He added 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, deputy head of Iran's Geology and Mineral Exploration Organization Behrouz Borna said that the country ranks first in the Middle East for possessing the region's largest mineral reserves, Press TV reported.
Iran ranks among 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.